Asylum may follow killer Saudi prince's life term
LONDON: A Saudi prince, the grandson of King Abdullah, has been jailed for life for murdering his servant in a London hotel.
Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir al-Saud, 34, must serve a minimum of 20 years.
''It is very unusual for a prince to be in the dock on a murder charge,'' the judge, David Bean, told Saud as he sentenced him at the Old Bailey yesterday. ''No one in this country is above the law.''
On Tuesday the court had convicted Saud of beating and strangling Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz to death on February 15 in the climax of a long campaign of violent sexual abuse.
While he must serve at least half of his term in Britain, media reports yesterday said his lawyers would claim asylum for him, maintaining he should stay in Britain for his whole sentence and after his release.
Saud was exposed as a homosexual during his trial, which puts him at risk of a death sentence if he returns to Saudi Arabia.
The Foreign Office stepped in before the case started to warn that he might seek leave to remain if the sexual aspect of his case became public. A Foreign Office memo said: ''We believe that the prince could be at risk of harm should the nature of the allegation against him become public knowledge. He could be at risk from members of his family, or the victim's family.''
Saud was targeted by Islamic fundamentalists while on remand because of his sexuality.
On Tuesday he showed no emotion as he was found guilty of murdering Mr Abdulaziz in the room they shared at the five-star Landmark hotel. He beat and strangled his 32-year-old aide to death after weeks of violent abuse, some of which was captured on closed-circuit TV.
During the 2½-week trial, his lawyers denied he was a homosexual, despite naked pictures of Mr Abdulaziz being found on the prince's phone and police finding the 2009 Spartacus International Gay Guide in his hotel room.
Media reports said Saud had contact with up to six homosexual male escorts while in London, but police had managed to trace only four.
The prince tried to claim diplomatic immunity and offered a £1 million ($1.6 million) deposit to be released on bail. However, these efforts to escape prosecution were rebuffed.
Saud's father, Prince Abdulaziz, collapsed and had to be treated by the Old Bailey matron after the unanimous guilty verdict.
Agence France-Presse; Telegraph, London
This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/world/asylum-may-follow-killer-saudi-princes-life-term-20101020-16uc0.html
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