Abdul Rahim Case: Saudi Courts Postpones Final Verdict For The 11th Time
The release of the Kozhikode’s Farook native Abdul Rahim, who has been imprisoned for the last 18 years, continues to remain uncertain as the Riyadh criminal court has postponed the final verdict on Monday. This has been the 11th time the hearing has been postponed. The next hearing date is still not announced yet. The case, which was scheduled to be heard last month on the 19th, was postponed citing technical issues.
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According to the sources, during the last hearing, Rahim’s lawyers had filed a bail plea in view of the delay in the release; however, that too was not considered by the court. The court had postponed the case on March 3 after seeking a hard copy of the files from the Riyadh governorate. It was not known whether the case was postponed due to technical grounds or not receiving those files.
Rahim was imprisoned for 18 years in connection with the death of the son of his Saudi sponsor. Rahim was arrested after the Saudi native died when his hand accidentally hit the boy’s life support device. The court later had revoked Rahim’s death sentence as the victim’s family granted him freedom after accepting the blood money of Rs 34 crore. A cheque of one and a half crore Riyals was handed over to the representative of the family of the murdered Saudi boy through the embassy. After many attempts to collect the blood money for his release, many people from several walks of life came together to collect over Rs 34 crore three days ahead of the deadline that was set by the Saudi court.
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Rahim’s mother, who has been eagerly waiting for her son’s comeback, is left in tears yet again. Since the overturning of his death penalty, she had little communication with Rahim through occasional phone calls from the prison.
