Serial rapist pleads innocent, wants retrial

The Saudi man accused of kidnapping and raping underage girls has appeared in a video appealing to Saudi authorities and pleading innocent, claiming he is a victim of intrigue and injustice.
He asked higher authorities to form a committee to review the verdict and the entire case.
“I plead my innocence and swear to God that neither my religion nor my education, knowledge, age, fatherhood or upbringing allow me to even think of committing such an act, which can only come from ribald and mentally ill people,” he said in his video.
“I strongly deny all that I am accused of,” he said. “It is all unjust fabrication of the truth. The accusations I am being subjected to are not acceptable in our religion. They are malicious and have been magnified and manipulated.”

The Saudi Supreme Court in Riyadh has ratified the verdict of murder discretionary for Mousa Al-Zahrani, previously issued in Jeddah’s General Court, but the defendant maintains he is innocent and has been trying to sway public opinion over the past two days through his video, which aired on social media platforms.
Al-Zahrani was accused of kidnapping 13 underage girls between the ages of six and 12 from different areas in Jeddah. Al-Zahrani allegedly kidnapped, terrorized, abused, assaulted and forced the girls into his home, where he is then said to have raped them. The girls had also allegedly been forced to drink alcohol and watch pornographic material, after which they are thrown out onto the street.
Wael Jawaherji, the defendant’s previous lawyer, also claims Al-Zahrani’s innocence based on the evidence.
“I am 100 percent convinced he is innocent,” he said. “I would not have taken up his case had I not been convinced of his innocence.” “I have my reasons for believing he did not commit these crimes, which I have jotted down in regulation interceptors, but the court has a different take on the case,” he said.
“I am no longer his lawyer and I have no interest in claiming his innocence, which goes to show that this is my genuine view,” he said.
The 44-year-old suspect, a teacher, is married with six children and lives with his family and his father in one house. “I enjoyed a very good social life and track record prior to this incident,” he said. “I have never broken a single law; I have never even run a red light.”
Saudi lawyer Mohammed Nayta says only the king can revoke the verdict issued by the Supreme Court. “Anything is possible,” he said. “The king might interfere and ask for more evidence or further investigation or maybe even adjust the verdict like he did with the girl from Qatif.”