Killer pardoned just before execution

A Saudi man sentenced to death for murdering another Saudi was pardoned just before he was to be executed in a packed public place.

Zonaifar Al Merri was transported under heavy security to the execution square in the Eastern Saudi town of Jubail and was blindfolded just before he was to be beheaded.

“As the swordsman prepared to behead the killer, the victim’s brother announced that he was pardoning him after consulting his mother, who was present at the execution square,” Alriyadh Arabic language daily said.

Under Islamic law, which is strictly enforced in Saudi Arabia, a convicted killer on the death row can escape execution and walk free if pardoned by the victim’s relatives in exchange for blood money, which can be set by the victim’s family.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.