InfoAnda - 'It's About to Become More Expensive to Kill a Poor Person'

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Home U.S. World Entertainment Sports Business Health Science Technology Politics Offbeat Environment Travel News Articles 'It's About to Become More Expensive to Kill a Poor Person' Email Facebook Digg Twitter Buzz Up! ShareThis February 11, 2010 11:43 a.m. EST Topics: islam, offbeat, punishment, human interest, fine, religion and belief, curiosity, crime, law and justice, United States The Media Line Staff United States (TML) - Saudi Arabian officials are reevaluating the standard amount of 'blood money' awarded to the families of murder victims in the kingdom. The judiciary council is an eleven member body made up mostly of judges appointed by the Saudi king. According to Arab News, the council has dispatched officials from the General Commission of the high court in the Saudi capital Riyadh to survey market rates for camels throughout the kingdom, so as to come up with more accurate standard 'blood money' awards. Under Saudi Arabia's legal system, those convicted of murder or manslaughter are usually given the death penalty by public beheading. However, under Shari'a, Islamic law, murder and manslaughter are viewed principally as private matters, and the family of the victim is given the final say in determining the murderer's punishment. The family can require that the murderer be executed, offer a pardon, or accept financial compensation in exchange for dropping the case. The latter option, known as 'diya' or 'blood money', is the most common. Shari'a stipulates that the family of a murder victim must be given 20 young male camels and 80 female camels of varying ages as 'blood money' compensation for their loss. In interpreting this 100 camel rule, the Supreme Judiciary Council, which governs Saudi Arabia's judicial system, currently requires that at least 100,000 Saudi Riyals ($26,666) be paid to the family of a Male Muslim victim of manslaughter, and 110,000 Saudi Riyals ($29,333) to the family of a Male Muslim who is murdered. Half those amounts are paid for a Muslim female or Christan male or female, and 1/16th of those amounts are paid for all other religions. "If you kill someone, usually the punishment is death," a Saudi analyst told The Media Line on the condition of anonymity, due to the sensitivity of the subject. "It doesn't matter if it was a Pakistani, or an Indian or whatever. But what happens is that after the sentencing, the family of the murder tries to buy off the family of the victim. If they come to an agreement, the judge will cancel the death sentence." However, a number of camel owners interviewed by Arab News reported average camel prices as ranging from 3,000 Saudi Riyals ($800) to 20,000 Saudi Riyals ($5,333), making the judicial council's standard 'blood money' rates worth between five and 37 percent of the actual market value of 100 camels. In addition, in practice, 'blood money' awards vary greatly and are often influenced by business considerations and tribal rivalries. "There are prices on people, their value just depends on their gender, race, tribe and nationality," the analyst said. "It could be 100,000 riyals [$26,666]. It can be six million riyals [$1.6 million]." "So if the killer is non-Saudi, then most likely the murderer will just be killed, especially if they are Asian," they continued. "How will an Asian person who comes here to work for 500 riyals [$133] a month be able to pay 100,000 riyals [$26,666]? So basically the poor people are not able to pay so they are sentenced to death. The effect of this is that people with money rarely face justice. They pay the money and that's it." A number of Saudi Islamic scholars have called for the government to curb the business-style dealings that have come to be associated with blood money awards, but the government claims the move to revalue the standard 'blood money' rate, which was last set in 1980, comes after a rise in the price of camels throughout the Gulf. Saudi rights activists say the decision to raise the standard 'blood money' rate comes in response to extensive international criticisms of the Saudi justice system. "The problem is that people don't go by what the court suggests, so in reality there has never really been a fixed price," Wajiha Al-Huwaidar, a Saudi human rights advocate told The Media Line. "There was a lot of criticism of the injustice and lack of fairness in the blood money system, so they probably thought it's better to have a more realistic fixed price." "There should be one punishment for all," she said. "So the idea that there would be a fixed price for every person in Saudi Arabia is good so tribes don't turn a murder into a business transaction." "But the system has never been fair and I worry that a fixed price for everyone will not be the reality," Al-Huwaidar said. "On the one hand it's about to become more difficult, and expensive, to kill someone who is poor. On the other hand, rich people generally get away with the crime because they can get someone to come and make a deal with the other side." Copyright © 2003 - 2010 AHN - All rights reserved.Redistribution, republication. syndication, rewriting or broadcast is prohibited without the prior written consent of AHN.License AHN news for your website, business, digital signage network or publication. 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