RIYADH: The Saudi Supreme Court has revoked the death sentence pronounced by the General Court in Jeddah on two young men charged with the murder of a 19-year-old Syrian during a school brawl in north Jeddah in 2007.
The court, which is the third and last level of litigation in the Saudi judiciary, also ordered the formation of a new judicial committee to reconsider the case and issue a verdict.
In early 2009, a panel of three judges at the general court in Jeddah sentenced Mohamed Kohail, a Canadian national of Palestinian origin, and Jordanian Mohanna Ezzat to death for killing Syrian Munzer Al-Hiraki in 2007.
The case attracted much interest, especially in Canada with senior Canadian government officials taking up the issue with Saudi officials.
A summary court in Jeddah also found Mohamed’s younger brother Sultan guilty and sentenced him to 12 months in prison and 200 lashes. The court of cassation in Makkah, however, subsequently overruled the ruling.
In a statement to Arab News, Saleh Al-Ghamdi, the lawyer representing Mohamed Kohail and Mohanna Ezzat, welcomed the Supreme Court verdict, saying it was proof of the Saudi judiciary’s integrity and honesty. He also welcomed the decision to form a new judicial committee to reconsider the case.
Under the new judicial system, the Supreme Court has the right to revoke rulings issued by any of the Kingdom’s courts.
Munzer Al-Hiraki died in a fight after confronting Sultan, who was 17 at the time, for harassing his 19-year-old cousin, Raneem. Eyewitnesses reported that six youths first attacked Raneem’s elder brother Abdulrahman who was also at the school at the time.
When Al-Hiraki stepped in to push Abdulrahman’s attackers off, the Kohail brothers and Ezzat turned on him. The 19-year-old was then chased and beaten. He received multiple injuries, including a blow to the head causing loss of vision and a blow to the crotch causing internal bleeding, which led to his death.
The Kohail brothers are Canadian citizens of Palestinian origin. They moved to Canada from the Kingdom in 2000 and settled in Dollard des Ormeaux only to return to the Kingdom later.
