ABHA: An 80-year-old woman who has been on death row for eight years after being found guilty of murdering her stepson’s wife, a crime she openly admits to committing, is seeking a pardon.
Sha’afa Al-Qahtani is asking the family of the murdered woman to forgive her so she can spend the rest of her life with her grandchildren.
Speaking to Al-Watan recently, Al-Qahtani said: “I lived with my husband taking care of my stepson since he was six months old. Sometime after his marriage his wife and I had a quarrel that ended up in beating and resulted in her death.”
Al-Qahtani was imprisoned until her children could reach puberty so she could be executed. Relatives of the victim have rejected an offer of blood money and are demanding nothing but execution.
“I am an old woman and every day my health gets worse, but I am still waiting for forgiveness. I would like to go out and see my parents who are now very old ... they haven’t been able to visit me in prison. They need me,” she said.
Al-Qahtani also said she was willing to leave her village if she were pardoned. She called on good-doers to intervene on her behalf and save her from execution.
Al-Qahtani’s husband, who is now 100 years old, said he was the one who suffered most because the case has torn the family apart. He asked his brother, who is the victim’s father, and his son to pardon Al-Qahtani.
Naila Asiri, head of the women’s prison in Abha, said Al-Qahtani is the oldest prisoner they have. “At her age she needs to be transferred to a hospital or the prison clinic,” said Asiri. “She has memorized the Qur’an and prays on time. She is waiting for the moment of forgiveness.”
