The trial of the father of the murdered girl, Lama Ghamdi, has not reached its final conclusion. It is still under consideration by the judiciary in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, the official spokesman of the Ministry of Justice, Mr Fahad bin Abdullah Al Bakran, said that a verdict to “pay blood money (Diya)” had not yet been passed. He said that rumours in the media suggesting a decision had been made were wrong. Mr Al Bakran confirmed that the judiciary was still examining the case and no sentence whatsoever has been passed. He said a verdict would be reached after hearing all the evidence from all parties.
The official spokesman said that the defendants’ representative had requested a copy of the plaintiff’s accusation so that they can respond to them at the next meeting, scheduled for today Wednesday, 03/04/1434 AH (13/02/2013) while the defendant (the girl's father) is still imprisoned.
The official spokesman emphasised in his statement that media should avoid spreading rumours or commenting on matters still being considered by the judiciary, except with the permission of the Judge in charge of the case.
It should be noted that the judiciary in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is wholly independent. Saudi Arabia follows Shari'ah, the law of Islam. There are five areas the Shari'ah considers paramount and their protection is absolute. One of these is the protection of human life. In this connection, murder is among the gravest of crimes because it is an aggression against human life which the Shari'ah absolutely protects.
When a person is tried by a court of law and found guilty of murdering an innocent person, the convicted criminal is sentenced to death unless the heirs of the murdered person accept compensation and pardon the convicted murderer. This is the private right of the family of the victim.
However, under the law there are two sets of rights: the private right of the family of the murdered person and the public right of the State. Even if the family of the victim exercises its right to accept compensation in lieu of the murderer’s life, the State still has a duty to punish a convicted murderer with a term of imprisonment. As such, if the family exercises its right to accept compensation, the convicted murderer will still face imprisonment as determined by a court of law.
