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Saudi Prince Executed: To Show Justice Is Equal For All, Prince Turkic Bin Saud al-Kabir Beheaded For Fatally Shooting A Man?

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 07:15 PST, Oct 19, 2016

Saudi Arabia reportedly executed a member of the royal family. According to official sources, Prince Turkic Bin Saud al-Kabir was put to death for killing a fellow citizen.

Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir was put to death in the capital for murdering a fellow citizen, confirmed a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior. The execution orders were carried out on the Prince about three years after he had killed a citizen of the Islamic kingdom.

Following a heated group altercation in al-Thumama region in the outskirts of Riyadh, Prince Turkic bin Saud al-Kabir shot Adel al-Mohaimeed. The man succumbed to his injuries. Incidentally, the prince pleaded guilty to his crime. It is not clear why the judicial system took three years to sentence the prince to death. The Islamic kingdom is usually very swift with punishments. It barely takes a few days or weeks to decide on the punishment, and sometimes even less time is required to carry out the sentencing.

Saudi courts have a number of punishments befitting the crime and its severity. Starting from a few lashes for petty crimes like shoplifting, punishments get a lot more severe for serious crimes like harassment of women and dealing or consumption of drugs. Guilty are often subjected to amputation. However, those found guilty of heinous crimes like murder or rape, are often executed. Sometimes the punishments are executed publicly as the country believes in the power of suggestion is enough to deter future criminals.

The country is famous for executing criminals irrespective of nationality. However, members of the Saudi Arabia’s ruling family rarely face the court, let alone execution. Hence, the news about the execution comes as a surprise. The last known royal to be executed was Faisal bin Musaid al-Saud in 1975. The member of the royal family had murdered his own relative. The General Court found Saud guilty of murdering his own uncle and sentenced him to death.

While death sentences of commoners are carried out by hanging the guilty, members of the royal family are put to death by beheading with a large sword. It is apparent the royal family wanted to set an example for its citizenry, reported Al-Arabia. The interior ministry issued a statement that noted the following.

“The government… is keen to keep order, stabilize security and bring about justice through implementing the rules prescribed by Allah. King Salman is keen on enforcement of security, justice and God’s judgments. Legitimate punishment would be the fate of whoever tries to assault innocent people and shed their blood.

“The prince had previously pleaded guilty to killing his victim, young Saudi man Adel bin Suleiman bin Abdul Karim Mohaimeed, during a fight between a group of men.

“After the investigations, they charged him of committing the crime and his indictment was sent to the General Court. He was charged with what was attributed to him and sentenced to death as retribution.”

According to non-official statistics compiled by the AFP news agency, Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir was the 134th person to be put to death this year, reported the BBC. The highest number of executions took place in the month of January this year. While official numbers are hard to come by, it is estimated about 50 people were put to death in a single month. The people put to death were found guilty of crimes ranging from murder, drug trafficking, and terrorism. Among those killed by the government was prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, reported the BBC.

Besides the prince, the kingdom also executed another Saudi citizen on Tuesday in the Qatif region of Eastern Province. The statement about the sentencing noted the criminal, identified as Saad Bin Ahmed al-Shamrani, was convicted of abducting and raping a young woman.

Interestingly, the royal family, whose members number in the thousands, did try to buy the prince’s life by offering “blood money” to the victim’s family. However, the family flatly refused the offer and demanded justice be carried out.

[Featured Image by Bruno Vincent/Getty Images]

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