Canada to seek clemency for Montrealer facing beheading
Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ordered government officials to seek clemency for a Montreal man facing execution in Saudi Arabia for killing a teen.
Mohamed Kohail, shown in an undated photo, faces a public beheading in Saudi Arabia for the death of a teenage boy during a schoolyard brawl.
(Canadian Press)
Mohamed Kohail, 23, was sentenced to beheading after he was convicted of killing a student in a schoolyard brawl in 2007.
His case marks the first test of the Conservative government's new policy of not asking for mercy when Canadians are sentenced to death in democratic countries with a strong rule of law.
Traditionally, Canada lobbied foreign governments for clemency but last fall Ottawa changed its position in response to the case of an Albertan on death row in Montana.
An e-mail went out from Harper's office Wednesday morning stating that Canadian officials in Saudi Arabia have been instructed to seek clemency in the case.
Brawl escalated from alleged insult
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier also said that his department will do what it can to help the man's family appeal the death sentence.
It's unclear when Canada will make a clemency request for Kohail, who is jailed in the city of Jeddah. The appeal window closes in 30 days.
Bernier said he hopes Saudi officials make a "decision that will be in line" with Canadian values.
Kohail grew up in Saudi Arabia but moved to Montreal with his family as a teenager. The family had temporarily returned to the Middle Eastern country to attend a wedding but planned to return to Quebec where they still own a home.
In January 2007, Kohail allegedly became embroiled in a brawl after his 16-year-old brother, Sultan, called him to the school asking for help. Sultan wanted his brother to defend him after being accused by a schoolmate of insulting a girl.
According to his brother's account, Kohail arrived at the school with a friend to find a group of men waiting for him armed with clubs and knives. A fight erupted and a student died in the clash.
Both Kohail and his brother were arrested and jailed, though there are media reports his younger brother has since been freed.
Policy reversed after U.S. case
Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976 and for years has pressured foreign governments for clemency when its citizens faced execution.
But late last October, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day indicated a change in policy.
"We will not actively pursue bringing back to Canada murderers who have been tried in a democratic country that supports the rule of law," Day told the House of Commons at the time.
The remarks were in response to the case of Ronald Allen Smith, the only Canadian on death row in the United States. He faces lethal injection for the 1982 murders of two men.
Smith is taking Ottawa to court over the policy reversal, arguing the government acted unconstitutionally by abruptly ending its long-standing tradition of helping citizens sentenced to death abroad.
His lawyers argue that Day's statements show tacit approval of Smith's execution, which they say violates his constitutional rights as a Canadian and his rights under international law.
An application was recently filed asking the Federal Court to force the government to continue seeking clemency for Smith.
With files from the Canadian Press
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.