Killer pardoned after 22 years in jail - for Dh19.5m

A Saudi man convicted of killing another was pardoned and allowed to walk free after spending 22 years in prison when his family paid SR19.5 million (Dh19.5 million) blood money to the victim’s relatives, a newspaper reported on Wednesday.

Mohammed Ali Al Qahs was imprisoned when he was 15 years old after killing another boy during a fight in the Eastern Saudi town of Dammam.

Relatives spent many years raising diya (blood money) after the court agreed to postpone the execution of the killer, 'Sabq' daily said.

“We paid diya in court and the victim’s family pardoned our son…he was jailed when he was 15 years old and today he is leaving jail aged 37,” the paper said, quoting the defendant’s uncle, Mohammed bin Hamad Al Qahs.

Under Islamic law, which is strictly enforced in Saudi Arabia, a killer can avert execution and walk free if pardoned by the victim’s family in return for diya, which is set in the Kingdom at SR300,000. The victim’s relatives are permitted to demand more.

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