[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

April 1



CANADA:

Canadian diplomat to meet Montrealer facing execution in Saudi Arabia


Canada's ambassador to Saudi Arabia is set to meet Tuesday with a Montreal
man facing execution in the Middle Eastern country.

The Canadian government has asked for clemency in the case of Mohamed
Kohail, who has been sentenced to death by beheading in Saudi Arabia.

Mohamed Kohail, 23, was convicted of murder and sentenced on March 3 to a
public beheading following a schoolyard brawl in 2007 that left an
18-year-old student dead.

The ambassador will meet with Kohail, his family and legal counsel to
discuss the young man's case, according to Foreign Affairs spokesman
Rodney Moore. He said the ambassador will also meet with officials from
the Saudi Justice Ministry, in an effort to ensure that due process is
being followed.

A spokesman for the Kohail family, however, said there is little the
diplomat will be able to accomplish on his own.

"I think Mr. Bernier is the one who's supposed to be contacting the Saudi
officials, he should be contacting his Saudi counterparts, as we mentioned
before, in addition to meeting with the minister of interior," Mahmoud
Al-Ken told CBC News Tuesday.

"I think the ambassador should have met Kohail a long time before, at
least before the verdict was announced. Maybe we had a better chance
[then] to correct the flaws in legal procedure."

Kohail's family has argued that he did not receive a fair trial in Saudi
Arabia, and they hope the sentence will be overturned through an appeal
process.

Kohail's lawyer filed the appeal document in court Monday but was ejected
from the courtroom during the proceedings, apparently after he offended
the judges. Al-Ken said the judges, who are the same ones who handed
Kohail his death sentence, threatened to revoke the lawyer's licence.

"We hope that this is on the individual level of the judges and the Saudi
officials will counter this problem," Al-Ken said.

Urged to move quickly

Kohail's younger brother Sultan, 17, was convicted of similar charges
after the schoolyard brawl, and could face the death penalty at his
sentencing on Saturday. A Saudi national has also been charged.

It's not clear when Mohamed Kohail is scheduled to be executed, but
Canadian officials must move quickly, Al-Ken said, if they hope to save
the brothers' lives.

The federal government has indicated it will seek clemency for Kohail at
the request of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Last Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day's department released
a statement saying the minister brought up the case while meeting with the
head of Saudi Arabia's general intelligence service, Prince Muqrin bin
Abdul Aziz Al Saud.

"I reiterated the Canadian government's position that a review of the
decision made by the Saudi judiciary be carried out with a view to
ensuring a full and fair hearing," Day said in a statement.

"We urge Saudi authorities to overturn the death sentence."

Liberal Opposition critic Dan McTeague had said on Wednesday that Day
should have met with his direct counterpart in Riyadh, rather than his
deputy, as well as with the Saudi justice minister, instead of that
country's intelligence chief.

(source: CBC)