Saudi Prince convicted of murder

Submitted by Vijay (Germany), Oct 19, 2010 at 13:51

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-11571822

A highly placed Saudi Prince convicted by a London court for mudering his servent. There was also an abusive sexual element to it.

"If he ever returns to his home country he faces the possibility of execution - not because of the murder, but because being gay is a capital offence in Saudi Arabia."

Murder in Islam is far less an offense than homosexuality, which invites death sentence.

A Saudi prince has been found guilty of murdering his servant at a hotel in central London.

Bandera Abdulaziz, 32, was found beaten and strangled in the Landmark Hotel, Marylebone, on 15 February 2010.

The Old Bailey was told the assault by Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud had a "sexual element" and he had attacked Mr Abdulaziz many times before.

Al Saud, 34, had admitted manslaughter but denied murdering Mr Abdulaziz. He will be sentenced on Wednesday.

Champagne and cocktails

The Saudi prince was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to an earlier attack in a hotel lift, a charge which he had denied.

The murder of Mr Abdulaziz was the final act in a "deeply abusive" master-servant relationship in which Al Saud carried out frequent attacks on his aide "for his own personal gratification".

The 34-year-old was fuelled by champagne and cocktails when he bit his servant hard on both cheeks during the attack on 15 February, the court heard.

The pair had just returned from a Valentine's Day night out when Al Saud launched the ferocious assault.

Jurors heard that Mr Abdulaziz was left so worn down and injured - having suffered a "cauliflower" ear and a swollen eye from previous assaults - that he let Al Saud kill him without a fight.

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