JEDDAH, 5 July 2003 — Sixty-five people of various nationalities convicted of crimes punishable by death are presently awaiting execution in the Makkah province.
Only if the next of kin of the victims pardon them — a practice not uncommon in Saudi Arabia — will the lives of the criminals be saved.
The pardon sometimes takes places at the last minute, when the convict has been brought to the place of execution.
According to Okaz newspaper, the majority of those on death row have been convicted of drug-related crimes or murder. Saudis make up 80 percent of those who have been convicted of murder.
The paper quoted Sheikh Nasser Al-Zahrani, executive director of the committee for pardon and reconciliation in the province, as saying that the committee succeeded in saving 20 convicted persons from execution over the past two years after convincing the relatives of the victims to grant a pardon.
The committee, which is chaired by Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed, has 50 members on its board.
In its efforts to secure pardons, the committee has in the past sent delegations to foreign countries, including Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, to convince the relatives of the victims to spare the life of the persons who killed their loved ones.
The committee has two main offices in Makkah and Jeddah and has recently opened seven offices in other parts of the province.
The youngest person on the list, a 16-year-old boy who was involved in the murder of a young man after a brawl turned violent, has been pardoned.
The Kingdom imposes death penalty for murder, rape and drug smuggling.
Meanwhile in Taif, a local committee, which works to reconcile family and business disputes, said it was able to settle more than 30 disputes amicably.
