RIYADH, 9 April 2008 — Several members of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, who took part in a raid on a house that led to the death of an alleged bootlegger last year, changed their testimonies at the start of a retrial into the case at the Riyadh General Court.
The eight commission members denied that two of their colleagues who are currently on trial for murdering bootlegger Salman Al-Huraisi, 28, had participated in the raid and could, therefore, not be held responsible.
The men’s retractions contradict their earlier testimonies that the two unnamed commission members were in the raid and had beaten Al-Huraisi.
“They changed their testimonies 180 degrees in front of the three judges. Some of them said the first defendant had not participated at all in the raid. Others said the second defendant took part, but was not seen near the victim,” said Yahya Al-Huraisi, the lawyer representing the family of the deceased.
The men told judges that their previous statements were made, while under pressure from investigators, said Yahya, adding that judges will listen to the testimonies of two other witnesses from the commission who had also taken part in the raid next Tuesday.
At yesterday’s hearing, the attorney representing the two defendants offered the Al-Huraisi family an out of court financial settlement if they dropped all charges. However, the family, which is seeking the death penalty, refused the offer.
“If they claim to be innocent, why are they offering money?” said Salman’s brother, Ali.
“No matter how hard they try to dilute or reverse the case, the fact of the matter remains. There is a victim. There is a dead person. And that only means one thing: One of them is a murderer,” he added.
Judges at the Cassation Court rejected a previous not-guilty verdict by the General Court and ordered a retrial due to 12 errors in the case. One of the errors included the fact that judges had ruled without hearing the testimonies of eyewitnesses.
Investigators from the General Investigation and Prosecution Board held the two defendants responsible for the man’s death after months of investigations, which included collating testimonies from other commission members and an autopsy report stating that Salman was beaten and died as a result of a blow to the head, which fractured his skull.
Several bottles of alcohol were found when over 18 commission members raided the Al-Huraisi family home in Riyadh’s Al-Uraija district last year.
