A Saudi football player could be executed for accidentally killing a Bangladeshi man while driving his car unless he pays diya (blood money).
A court in the northwestern Saudi town of Jouf had given Saud Al Faleh, 20, a few weeks to pay SR300,000 (Dh297,000) diya for the victim’s family but he could not raise all the funds, prompting the court to put him back in jail.
Al Faleh, who plays for Alorouba Youth club, said he had managed to raise around SR120,000 from colleagues, friends and relatives.
In remarks published in Saudi newspapers, the player appealed for Prince Nawaf bin Faisal, president of the Saudi Youth Authority, to help him.
“Al Faleh appealed for Prince Nawaf to help him pay the diya so he can be saved from execution and released from jail,” Aloola newspaper said.
Under Islamic law, which is strictly enforced in conservative Saudi Arabia, a killer can be saved from the gallows and released from jail if pardoned by the victim’s relatives in return for diya, which is set at SR300,000 in the Gulf Kingdom.
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