JEDDAH, 30 August 2005 — Efforts are being made to convince the father of Wala Adel Abdul Badie, the three-year-old Egyptian girl who was killed in Dammam a year ago, to pardon her teenaged killer.
Fifteen-year-old Ahmed Abdul Munji, also Egyptian, has been sentenced to death by a Shariah court for the murder.
According to Al-Watan Arabic daily, a Saudi businessman in the Eastern Province has offered to pay SR400,000 to the girl’s father if he will pardon the boy. The amount has now reached SR500,000 after Egyptians contributed another SR100,000.
Ibrahim Al-Muqaiteb, a human rights activist, expressed his hope that Wala’s family would forgive Ahmed, who is now living in a juvenile correction center in Dammam, away from his family. “We are now trying to involve both the Saudi and Egyptian foreign ministries to settle the matter and win a pardon for the boy,” he said.
Adel Abdul Badie, the girl’s father, said he felt extreme relief when the court sentenced his daughter’s killer to death. Asked whether he would pardon the boy, Badie replied, “From now until the time of the execution, we don’t know what will happen. We hope what happens will be for everybody’s good.”
Wala’s mother earlier vowed not to leave the Kingdom until the killer of her daughter is punished according to the Shariah.
Dammam police arrested Ahmed in May last year on a charge of murdering the girl whose body was found with multiple stab wounds at King Abdul Aziz Park near Jalawiyah area on May 7, 2004. The boy, who was taken to the police station for questioning, confessed to the crime.
Because of information supplied by the victim’s uncle and neighbors, the police believe the boy took Wala from her house. The police picked Ahmed up for questioning after discovering he was a regular visitor to Wala’s family.
During the interrogation, the boy said he killed the child because her father who was a very strict man had hit him. He said he was also angry because he thought Wala used to steal his toys.
Ahmed, who regrets the crime, said it was Satan who prompted him to kill Wala. “I cannot sleep properly because of nightmares. I say sorry to my mom and the mother of Wala, who loved me like my mom,” he told Al-Yaum daily.
The police arrested him four days after the crime. Ahmed has promised that he will work as a useful son of Wala’s parents if they allow him to live. He said, “My father has collapsed as a result of what I did and I have wanted to die a thousand times because of the trouble I caused.”
Ahmed still hopes to become a pilot which was his childhood dream.
