Saudi court upholds Montreal man's death sentence
Mohamed Kohail, shown in an undated photo, was convicted of murder and sentenced to a public beheading following a schoolyard brawl in Saudi Arabia. (Canadian Press) Mohamed Kohail, shown in an undated photo, was convicted of murder and sentenced to a public beheading following a schoolyard brawl in Saudi Arabia. (Canadian Press)
A lower court in Saudi Arabia has upheld the death sentence of a Montreal man convicted of murder.
Mohamed Kohail, 23, was convicted of murder and sentenced March 3, 2008, to a public beheading following a schoolyard brawl in 2007 in the city of Jeddah that left one person dead.
In February, the Supreme Judicial Council, Saudi Arabia's highest court, asked the lower court that had made the ruling to review its decision.
But after considering the council's recommendations, the lower court rejected that request, according to local media reports on Thursday.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade said in a statement Thursday afternoon it will ask for a review of the decision after it is formally submitted in writing.
"We are deeply disappointed at reports that a Saudi court has upheld its decision to sentence Mohammed Kohail to death," said the statement.
"Canada continues to express its concern for a fair and transparent review of the verdict and sentence."
Liberal MP Dan McTeague, who has been closely involved in the case from the beginning, told CBC News the Kohail family is falling victim to an internecine political struggle.
"My concern was that if we returned this case to the same court, they'd simply boot it back and we'd have this standoff in which lives remain in the balance," McTeague said.
New trial possible
Despite the lower court upholding its original verdict and sentence, the higher court could now order a new trial, something that could bode well for Kohail.
The Canadian government could also intervene, something Kohail's supporters have lobbied for during the two years he has already spent in a Saudi jail.
If Ottawa did choose to formally act on Kohail's behalf, there are fears the issue may move beyond a judicial issue and become a political hot potato, especially as world leaders meet in London this week for a G20 summit.
But McTeague insists Canada could do so without its action being viewed as a foreign interference, since the highest Saudi court has already expressed reservations over the Kohail case.
"The Supreme Council made it abundantly clear as early as February that this was not a matter of murder, and it was not a matter of a death sentence," McTeague said.
"There is a golden opportunity to say, 'We ask that you ensure the life of an innocent man, Canadian or not, is respected.' But the prime minister has to give that message," he said.
A copy of a letter written to the Prime Minister of Canada Stephen Harper by a Canadian man facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia has been obtained by The Canadian Press. In it, Mohamed Kohail pleads with the prime minister to utilise "every way possible to get me out of this situation."  

Kohail, 23, of Montreal, was sentenced on March 3, 2008 to be publicly executed following a confession for murder at a Saudi school. Kohail claims the confession was obtained under duress. The Saudi Supreme Court advised the lower court on April 9, 2009 to renounce the death penalty; however, the request was refused.

Munzer Al-Hiraki, 19, was killed in an after-school fight in January 2007, allegedly after Kohail's brother, Sultan, insulted a girl. The brothers claim that the fight involved a large group of boys, and felt they were acting in self defense.

Sultan, 16 at the time, said that Mohamed came to his rescue with a friend, only to be greeted by a group armed with knives and clubs. Witnesses for the brothers say that Al-Hiraki had arrived at the school with carloads of friends to seek vengeance on Sultan. 

"I was tortured to sign a confession. I was misinformed that I would be allowed out of custody the moment I signed it," said Kohail.

In the letter, delivered by Canadian MP Deepak Obhrai last December, Kohail continues, "Mr. Harper, I have been in jail for two years now. I am imprisoned with hundreds of high-profile criminals in Saudi Arabia for a crime that I did not commit. I've lost my hair, two years of my life and see death coming to me closer every day."

Kohail received 80 days to appeal the sentence. "There were nine hearings in total and only one time was the lawyer for Mohamed and his friend allowed in the courtroom; not even Mohamed's father, Ali (was allowed in)," said a relative.

Harper is seeking clemency for the Kohail brothers. "It has to be worked within the confines of the Saudi law and it's important to recognize that and work with the Saudi officials to come to a resolution," said Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon. According to the letter, the Canadian government began seeking clemency March of 2008.

If the court continues to uphold the death penalty, the only other option is the payment of dia, or blood money, in exchange for forgiveness — but Al-Hiraki's family seeking CA$5 million.

Sultan Kohail is a juvenile who is out on bail awaiting to be tried in adult court on murder charges. The Convention on the Rights of the Child forbids execution of youths under the age of 18, which Saudi Arabia officials declare they comply with.  However, the Convention also prohibits execution for crimes committed as juveniles no matter when the court sentences them.

Born in Palestine, the Kohail brothers moved to Canada in 2000, and became Canadian citizens in 2005. They moved to Jiddah in 2006.

In October 2007, Canadian Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day said, "We will not actively pursue bringing back to Canada murderers who have been tried in a democratic country that supports the rule of law." Previously Canada consistently sought clemency from all foreign governments after the death penalty was abolished in Canada in 1976.

Since the beginning of 2009, 36 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia. 102 were executed in 2008 and 158 were executed in 2007.