Sultan pardons officer on death row

JEDDAH, 22 November— A Saudi security officer, who accidentally killed a compatriot, was saved from execution yesterday thanks to the generosity of Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation, who donated SR4 million in blood money, Al-Watan reported. Ahmad Yahya Al-Matmi, who has been in a Hafr Al-Baten jail for the past seven years after he was sentenced to death, thanked the prince for his humanitarian gesture. Matmi said he killed the man when he fired shots in the air to disperse a group of people who had entered a prohibited area.