MAKKAH, 7 February 2007 — Miteb Al-Deyabi never thought he would end up killing his high school friend and then face execution. Ever since that fatal shooting on a Friday morning three years ago, Miteb sat in a juvenile center in Jeddah awaiting his fate. He was finally pardoned and set free two weeks ago.
Miteb, 16, shot dead his friend, Fehan Al-Shebani, 13, in front of a grocery store in a Jeddah suburb. Al-Shebani died instantly.
The two friends had fallen out over a disagreement that took place a short time earlier.
Miteb’s father, Rubaikan, told Arab News that the 40 months since his son committed the murder was a terrible time for him and his family. He never expected such a thing would happen since his son and Fehan were best friends. The Al-Deyabi and Al-Shebani family had been living close to each other for a number of years.
“We were very close. In fact, many people thought we were brothers. After the murder, I was shocked and I had to move my family from where I used to live in Bahra to Um Al-Doom, which is on the Riyadh Road,” said Rubaikan.
“For many months I couldn’t sleep properly. My son’s impending execution haunted me in my dreams. I felt like a person drowning and waiting for someone to rescue me from my misery,” he added.
Rubaikan said he became hopeful when some kind people intervened to seek forgiveness for his son from the Al-Shebani family. Tribal leaders, the Makkah governorate and the Reconciliation Committee interfered in the case to solicit a pardon.
The efforts paid off when more than 500 tribal elders and family members attended a meeting with the victim’s family. The executive president of the Reconciliation Committee, Misfer Al-Zahrani, headed the meeting at the Bahra Center in the Bahra Al-Mujahedeen neighborhood.
Al-Zahrani convinced the family to forgive Miteb. He handed them a message from Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed urging them to pardon the boy.
The standoff that had lasted for more than three and a half years finally came to an end. People gathered before the meeting and crowds came to visit the victim’s family. After more than one hour of negotiation and deliberation the family finally agreed to pardon Miteb.
Fehan’s father, Shlewaieeh ibn Falah, and uncle Hassan announced their decision to pardon Miteb. The brothers said that they sought no financial compensation from the Al-Deyabi family and that they sought only reward from Allah Almighty.
As Miteb heard the news his eyes welled with tears. “I feel I have been reborn. For over three years I have been living in constant pressure. When I am out, I will continue my studies and join a university to earn a degree,” he said.
Miteb’s uncle, Turki Al-Deyabi, thanked the victim’s family for their generosity and Prince Abdul Majeed for interfering to get the pardon.
Al-Zahrani, from the Reconciliation Committee, said this was the first reconciliation case that Prince Abdul Majeed had solved since his recent return from abroad and the first case that the committee had solved this Islamic year.
