Killer pardoned moments before execution

A Saudi killer who was to be beheaded was saved just moments before the sword was to fall on his neck after the victim’s father shouted his pardon through a packed execution square in the Gulf Kingdom.

The victim’s father Daheem bin Abdul Hadi Al Talian had rebuffed all mediation attempts to make him forgive the man who murdered his son, prompting the court to demand the execution of its death sentence.

When the unnamed defendant was taken to the execution square in the central town of Kharj amidst heavy security, well-known scholar Sheikh Saad bin Nassir Al Ghannam rushed to the site for a last-minute endeavour.

The executioner then went to Talian and told him he had come to execute his son’s killer and asked whether he still wants him to be beheaded.

“Talian asked the executioner to wait for a moment….he then turned to Sheikh Saad and had a chat with him,”Kabar newspaper said.

“Just as police men were getting the killer out of the car for execution and the swordsman braced for the beheading, Talian shouted loudly that he decided to pardon the killer of his son…the execution was cancelled amidst cheers and chanting God is Great by the crowd.”

Kabar said Sheikh Saad then led Talian to the prison vehicle where his son’s killer was still sitting handcuffed.

“I can not describe the feelings of the defendant when Talian told the killer that he had pardoned and forgiven him,” Sheikh Saad said.

“You have to imagine how a man who has just been saved from death would feel….he just leaned on Talian’s hand and kissed it many times before he burst into crying…I myself had tears in my eyes…God is Great.”

The defendant was convicted of murdering Talian’s son during a fight with sticks following a rift over just SR200 (Dh1980.

Under Islamic law, a murder convict can avert the gallows and walk free if pardoned by the victim’s relatives in return for diya (blood money).

[Picture Courtesy: Shutterstock]

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