Boy needs Dh16m to escape death

A 16-year-old Saudi boy needs SR16 million (Dh16 million) to pay diya (blood money) or he would be executed after he was convicted of killing another boy during a brawl.

Hamad Al Shammari was arrested when he was 14 years old after killing another boy in the northeastern town of Hafr Al Batin.

His mother Umm Hamad appealed for 'benevolent' people to help her pay diya and save her son's life, saying he had repented.

“If we don’t pay diya, my son will be executed after two months. I appeal for all benevolent people to help me,” she said, quoted by Sabq newspaper.

Under Islamic law, a convicted killer avert execution and 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 amount of money.

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