Man pardons son’s killer on day of execution

JEDDAH: Hafr Al-Batin city in the Eastern Province woke up to a rare incident of forgiveness on Wednesday. Baddah bin Rashid Al-Sahli chose to forgive his son’s killer only a short time before the sentence of execution was due to be carried out. Al-Sahli, whose exemplary action received widespread appreciation, said he forgave the killer for God’s sake only, local media reported on Thursday. Four years ago, Al-Sahli’s son, Mufreh, was stabbed to death by Fahd bin Mashari Al-Barazi following a quarrel. Fahd was sentenced to death and despite efforts at mediation, no agreement to spare the killer’s life was reached. The family of the victim refused blood money (diyah), even though the parents of the killer were ready to pay millions. On the day of execution, a group of men from the local mosque made one final attempt at mediation. After the dawn prayer, they paid a visit to the victim’s father and asked him to spare the killer’s life. The father was moved to forgive the killer and thus projected an excellent image of forgiveness and compassion. Eastern Province Gov. Prince Saud bin Naif called Al-Sahli and commended his noble action in forgiving his son’s killer. Very soon after, social media sites circulated the news applauding the noble attitude and rare behavior. Large numbers of Hafr Al-Batin citizens, led by Mayor Abdul Mohsin Al-Otaishan, visited the father’s house to thank him in person for his noble act. The citizens of Hafr Al-Batin, in a gesture of gratitude for his noble act, honored him, referring to the increasing phenomena of demanding large amounts of money, sometimes as much as SR50 million.