JEDDAH, 30 January 2008 — The father of a 16-year-old boy — who was executed last year following his arrest three years ago at the age of 13 in connection with the death of a young boy in Jizan — is seeking justice claiming his son was unjustly killed.
Hussein Al-Hakami said his son, Mueed, was interrogated, convicted and beheaded, without the presence of an attorney or family member, for allegedly killing a young boy named Fadel Nabeel in July 2004.
“I want justice. I will not rest until I get it,” Al-Hakami told Arab News, speaking about his son who was beheaded on July 10 last year. To add to his pain, Al-Hakami only learned that his son had been executed a few days later and till this day does not know where his body is buried.
The Al-Hakami family’s ordeal began on Monday, July 12, 2004, five days after the discovery of the body of Nabeel. Police arrived at the Al-Hakami family’s home in Zihra, a village 40 km from Jizan, looking for Mueed in connection with Nabeel’s death.
“I accompanied my son to the police station where he was taken into an interrogation room. I was put in another room. I requested to be with him during the interrogation but my request was denied,” said Al-Hakami.
A short time later, Al-Hakami was told by a police officer that Mueed had confessed to the crime. The father was imprisoned too. “The police kept me in jail for 10 days... They told me they feared trouble would erupt between the victim’s family and me,” said Al-Hakami, adding that he was told not to follow up on his son’s case. Al-Hakami was thrown into jail on two separate occasions for a month each.
During Mueed’s first few months in prison, Al-Hakami was denied permission to visit his son. “On more than one occasion, an officer warned me about following up on Mueed’s case,” he said, adding that people, including relatives, warned him against challenging the family of the killed boy, saying they were well-connected and that he would bring trouble on himself and his family.
Mueed was initially charged with sexually assaulting the dead boy. Months later, he was charged with Nabeel’s murder, said Al-Hakami, adding that according to the Hijri calendar Mueed was 14 at the time of arrest (13 according to the Gregorian calendar) and that the authorities waited until he turned 15 so they could pass the death sentence against him.
Al-Hakami said that the authorities have investigated the case in a shoddy manner. Feeling he has been wronged, the father has previously filed five complaints, two of which were directed to the Interior Ministry and another to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on April 22 and May 13 last year. However, his cries for justice failed to stop Mueed’s execution.
Abdullah Al-Zmami, an attorney from Al-Zmami Law Firm, who has been working on the case for the past seven months, said he is suing Jizan police for SR10 million and calling for the execution of those directly responsible for Mueed’s death.
He added that a number of Saudi laws have been broken and that a minor, defined as someone less than 15, cannot be held accountable for a crime. He added that it is also illegal for a uniformed police officer to interrogate a minor without the presence of a lawyer or parents.
Furthermore, according to Al-Zmami, the case should not have been held at the police station but should, as with all cases involving minors, have been transferred, no later than the second day, to the Investigation and Prosecution Commission. Al-Zmami added that he had requested a police report on the case four to five months ago but has not received anything yet.
In addition, police claimed that Mueed’s parents had testified against their son, something that Al-Hakami said was untrue. “I did not sign anything. I did not put my fingerprint on any such document,” said Al-Hakami.
Almost entirely deprived of seeing their son in prison during the last three years of his life, the Al-Hakami family was even denied knowledge of their son’s execution date and of being there during his last minutes of life.
“The police did not even inform us of our son’s date of execution,” said Al-Hakami, adding that they were only told when they visited a juvenile center where Mueed was being kept.
“I didn’t have the stomach to inform his mother who was with me,” he said, adding, “So I made up a story about some fighting among the boys and then told her that the visiting hours had been canceled. She found out later in the evening, when we began receiving condolence visits.”
The Al-Hakami family does not even know where Mueed has been buried. “We don’t know where our son has been laid to rest. They did tell me the name of a certain cemetery but I don’t believe them,” he told Arab News.
Al-Hakami is now adamant to obtain justice for the death of his son and is filing charges against the Interior Ministry, the Supreme Judiciary Council and every person responsible, directly or indirectly, for killing his son. He is seeking both compensation and the execution of those responsible. The first hearing is scheduled for Feb. 3 at the Court of Grievances.
