DAMMAM, 14 April 2008 — The life of the longest serving Saudi prisoner in the Kingdom, Abdullah Hamoud Al-Otaiby, is now hanging on the decision of a mentally ill woman.
Al-Otaiby, who entered Dammam Prison at the age of 18 in 1981, has been on death row for killing a man in the village of Noeira in the Eastern Province, Al-Watan newspaper reported yesterday.
As is customary in the Kingdom, the court postponed Al-Otaiby’s execution until his victim’s two young daughters reached the age of maturity and decided whether their father’s killer should be pardoned or not.
In normal circumstances, Al-Otaiby would have either been beheaded or pardoned about 12 years ago.
When the dead man’s elder daughter reached the age of maturity, she insisted Al-Otaiby be executed, saying losing her father was still a shock. Her uncles and grandmother were also of the same view.
Al-Otaiby’s next hope was the younger daughter. However, she was ruled mentally ill 12 years ago. Although the Shariah does not give an insane person the right to exercise her rights, the Dammam court decided to wait — as the girl was undergoing treatment and there was hope for a recovery — before going ahead with the execution.
Al-Otaiby’s uncle Fahd was recently told that the Ministry of Justice had asked for clarifications on his nephew’s status from the Presidency of Courts in Dammam.
The uncle believes that a decision may soon be made unless the woman showed a sign of recovery. He added that his nephew is upset about the issue.
Fahd added that he has tried to reconcile with the victim’s relatives and offered blood money, which the family has rejected.
