London: A Saudi prince jailed for life in Britain for murdering his servant has been flown home to serve the rest of his sentence, the British government said on Wednesday.
Prince Saud Bin Abdul Aziz Bin Nasser was jailed in 2010 for killing Bandar Abdullah Abdul Aziz in a London hotel after subjecting him to a “sadistic” campaign of violence.
Britain’s Ministry of Justice confirmed that the 36-year-old royal flew back to Saudi Arabia on Monday after he was granted a transfer to a prison in his homeland. Details of the transfer were announced last month.
“We have a prison transfer arrangement with Saudi Arabia which allows nationals of either country to serve their prison sentence in their home state,” a ministry spokesperson said. “Prince Saud has now returned to Saudi Arabia to serve the rest of his sentence. He was transferred in the same way that all prisoners are returned home and is the first prisoner to transfer under this arrangement.”
The trial at England’s Old Bailey central criminal court in London saw the defendant strongly denying allegations about abnormal sexual orientations, with his lawyers arguing that he could face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia over the allegations of homosexuality.
The jury heard that the prince beat and strangled Abdul Aziz to death on February 15, 2010 after the pair returned from a Valentine’s Day night out. A post-mortem found that the victim had suffered heavy blows to the head, injuries to the brain and ears, and severe neck injuries consistent with strangulation by hand. Prosecutors said bite marks on his cheeks showed a clear “sexual element” to the killing.
