Saudi prince orders 'diya' for Filipino

A member of the Saudi royal family ordered the payment of 'diya' (blood money) for a jailed Filipino convicted of killing a compatriot after he converted to Islam and persuaded 14 other Filipinos to join him.

Prince Saud bin Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, the prince of the eastern province, instructed a government committee in charge of prisoners welfare to 'immediately' pay SR66,000 (Dh66,000) diya for the victim’s family and the release of the prisoner.

“We visited the prisoner and conveyed him the happy news…we also gave him a present and a sum of money in recognition of his efforts to persuade 14 other Filipinos to embrace Islam,” the committee’s director Sheikh Ahmed Al Shahri told 'Sabq' daily.

“Upon hearing the news, he cried and prayed for the prince….he promised that he would pursue his campaign for Islam whether he stays in Saudi Arabia or leaves.”

'Sabq' said the inmate was on the death row after he was sentenced to death by a court in the eastern port of Dammam for killing another Filipino during a fight several years ago. It said the diya nullified the death sentence and he would soon be freed.
 

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