Saudi killer needs Dh20m to stay alive

A Saudi man convicted of murdering another during a fight needs to pay SR20 million (Dh20 million) to avoid execution in the Gulf Kingdom.

Ali bin Salhat Al Rasheedi has been sentenced to death by a criminal court in the western Saudi port of Yanbu and the verdict would only be abolished if he pays that sum as diya (blood money) to the victim’s relatives.

Newspapers quoted the victim’s father as appealing for donations to raise that sum and save his son’s life before he is executed in the first quarter of 2015.

Under Islamic law, a convicted killer can walk free if pardoned by the victim’s family in return for diya, which is officially set in Saudi Arabia at SR300,000 for a Muslim victim. But the victim’s relatives are allowed to demand any sum

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