RIYADH: The Canadian Embassy in Riyadh issued a statement saying that “no official ruling has yet been rendered” in the case of 23-year-old Mohammed Kohail, who is appealing a death sentence in the case of a January 2007 Jeddah schoolyard brawl that ended with the death of Munzer Al-Haraki, 19, who succumbed to a ruptured bladder due to the beatings.
The statement comes after several Canadian newspapers claimed a Saudi court has rejected the appeal. Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Friday that a Saudi court in Jeddah had upheld the verdict.
The newspaper quoted Liberal MP Dan McTeague as confirming the court’s decision. Several other newspapers in Canada also produced similar reports on the court decision allegedly took place last week.
Andrea Meyer, spokesperson for the Canadian Embassy, told Arab News by e-mail yesterday that officials in Ottawa continue to press for some kind of clemency for Kohail, a Palestinian-born Canadian citizen who previously lived with his family in Montreal.
“Canadian Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon has been briefed on the case and has directed his officials to meet with the Saudi charge d’affaires in Ottawa and raise the issue again,” said the statement.
“The Canadian foreign minister intends to speak to his Saudi counterpart in the near future to reiterate his government’s concerns,” said Meyer.
Kohail was found guilty of beating Haraki to death in a fight that involved dozens of other students. Kohail’s Saudi friend, Muhanna Ezzat, 22, has also been sentenced to death in the same case. His 17-year-old brother, Sultan, was also found guilty and initially sentenced to 200 lashes. However, the family of the deceased appealed the verdict and a court has agreed to try Sultan as an adult. (Shariah defines an adult based on the presence of pubic hair, but Saudi Arabia is a signatory to a UN resolution not to sentence to death persons who commit crimes as minors, defined under those terms as anyone under the age of 18.)
Family members declined to comment on the case.
The Canadian Embassy says it has been providing consular “assistance and support” and is in contact with the family’s lawyer. Embassy officials met with the family in Jeddah last week.
“It would not be appropriate to comment on the outcome of a case that is still before the courts and one on which an official ruling has not yet been rendered,” it added.
The Montreal Gazette reported on Saturday that Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Judicial Council will be hearing the appeal in “a matter of days” and that “in more than 95 percent of cases, the death penalty is approved.”
After hearing the appeals court ruling, Amnesty International sent a letter to the Saudi Embassy in Canada urgently requesting it to intervene in the case.
“We are urging the Canadian government from a diplomatic point to intervene and to speak with Saudi officials, and we are pressing for, a minimum, clemency,” said Amnesty International.
The Kohail family lived in Montreal until 2006 when they returned to Jeddah after a family member became ill.
The brawl started when Sultan, a student at the school, allegedly insulted Al-Haraki’s sister. Mohammed, who was not a student at the school, later arrived with friends to defend Sultan.
