JEDDAH: The father of a 19-year-old is demanding the Court of Cassation review the sentence by the Jeddah General Court of two young men who murdered his son.
The two men were sentenced to five years in prison and 500 lashes. Abdul Latif Al-Baddah, the father of the victim, Fayez Al-Baddah, called the verdict “unfair.”
“They murdered my son. They should receive the capital punishment that Shariah law prescribes in murder cases,” said Al-Baddah.
Fayez was returning home after Isha prayer when the two friends asked him to get into the car for a ride around the Jeddah Corniche on Oct. 31 last year. However, according to police investigations and the statement of the two men, Fayez was taken to Khaleej Salman (about 40 km from Jeddah) where they planned to rape him.
“They asked him to get into the car while he was about to buy fruit and vegetables after Isha prayer. They planned this because they told him they were going to take him on a short ride around the Corniche but they took him much further than that,” Al-Baddah said in anger.
An official court document revealed that, according to the father’s statement, Fayez realized they wanted to harm him while they were driving to Khaleej Salman. He asked them to stop the car, which they refused to do.
Fearing for his safety, he jumped from the moving car. The jump proved fatal and Fayez died after being in a coma for 12 hours. “I demand the death penalty for both of them since they planned to harm him and they wouldn’t stop the car. He was forced to make a fatal jump from a moving vehicle,” Al-Baddah said.
The statements of Yehya Baqqal and Mutasim Ahmed, the two men who were sentenced, matched the father’s that Fayez was sitting in the back seat on the way to northern Obhur. They did, however, deny having any intentions of harming Fayez.
The court document, released by the General Court in Jeddah, stated that the sentence was considered the public right. However, the private right, which belongs to the father, has still not been resolved as the father is demanding death penalty.
“I want capital punishment because they lied about what happened and never apologized,” said Al-Baddah.
“They got scared after my son jumped, and took him to the hospital and told the emergency room doctors that they had found him in the street and did not know him,” he said, adding that the Al-Salam Hospital security guard refused to let them go and called the police.
“The police questioned them separately. The two statements did not match,” Al-Baddah said.
The autopsy and DNA report stated that Fayez was checked into the hospital covered with bruises and suffering from a severe concussion that caused a brain hemorrhage.
Al-Baddah believes the two men’s false statements swayed the judges and that they did not look at the case from all angles.
“I can’t afford the expense of lawyers, and without payment they do not push your case forward,” said Al-Baddah.
Saud Al-Azwari, who is handling the case, did not comment or respond to several phone calls from Arab News. However, another lawyer based in Jeddah, said that judges normally look at all aspects of a case before issuing a ruling.
“I believe in this case the capital punishment requirements might not be complete,” said lawyer Yasine Khayyat. He said there were many punishments other than the death penalty when requirements for a certain situation are not complete. “For example, in adultery, if all conditions for lashes and punishment were not complete, the judges sentence something less,” he added.
“I don’t want blood money. Nothing will bring my son back but justice should be delivered,” Al-Baddah said.
