Gay prince may face death in Saudi Arabia
LONDON: A Saudi prince accused of murdering his servant in Britain could face the death penalty in his homeland over allegations of homosexuality, a London court heard on Saturday.
Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir al Saud, 34, who is a grandson of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, is accused of killing Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz in a top London hotel on February 15 after abusing him for weeks.
The prince is alleged to have murdered the servant in a ferocious attack with a "sexual element" .
His lawyer John Kelsey-Fry has denied suggestions that the two men were in a gay relationship.
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.
The prince could also be in peril from his victim's family "although as he is a member of the Saudi royal family, this risk would be reduced" the prosecutor said.
Gay Saudis have been granted asylum in Britain on the basis they could face prosecution, "and potentially the death penalty — or harm if they returned" , Cheema said.
Kelsey-Fry said Saudi law as described to the court would apply "if it were the case that the defendant had engaged in homosexuality" .
Al Saud has admitted manslaughter but strenuously denies having a "gay fling" with his victim — found beaten and strangled at a five-star London hotel where the pair were allegedly on a holiday.
He pleads not guilty to murder. The victim, Abdulaziz, had bite marks on him, said to have been caused during a sex romp. His employer was captured on CCTV attacking him in the lift of a hotel in London. Al Saud told police that he and Abdulaziz had been drinking into the early hours of the morning, and that when he awoke he could not rouse him.
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