A Saudi prince, accused of murdering his domestic help in Britain early this year, might face death sentence in his motherland over allegations of sodomy.
A local court on Saturday heard that 34-year-old prince, Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir al Saud, who is a grandson of Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, has been accused of hacking Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz at London hotel on February 15 after abusing him for weeks.
The prince was facing murder charge with a “sexual element”.
His advocate John Kelsey-Fry, however, denied the allegations.
Prosecutor Bobbie Cheema told England’s Old Bailey central criminal court, “Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia and carries the death penalty which is still applied in some cases.
“The country in which any alleged acts took place would have little bearing on the likelihood of prosecution as the Saudi legal system is based on the sharia law which is considered to be universal.”
She said prosecution would be a matter for the Saudi authorities but can depend on the wishes of the person’s family.
Some relatives push for the harshest penalty if they are deemed to have shamed the family, she said.