Indian national set to be freed from Saudi jail after mass support from home state Kerala
The full court verdict is expected to be released soon
An Indian national, native of southern state of Kerala's Kozhikode, will be freed from a Saudi prison after a court in Riyadh granted him amnesty in a 2006 case. The Indian national Abdul Rahim, aged 44, has been been imprisoned in Saudi Arabia for the past 18 years in a case relating to the accidental death of his sponsor’s paralysed son in 2006.
According to reports, the victim's family accepted Rahim’s apology and informed the court of their decision to grant him amnesty.
Earlier, a ‘Blood Money’ of ₹34 crore ($40,72,343) — raised through crowdfunding — was handed over to the victim’s family.
The full court order is expected to be released soon.
What does it mean?
The residents of India's Kerala state were anxiously awaiting the outcome of the case.
Their efforts led to a successful crowdfunding initiative that played a crucial role in securing Rahim’s amnesty. The initiative raised a whopping 15 million Saudi Riyals, which was handed over to the Riyadh governorate via the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia for transfer to the royal court.
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"Once the court issues the order, the Riyadh governorate has to issue an order confirming Rahim’s release," Naseeb C P, a representative of the Abdul Rahim Legal Assistance Committee was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express. "Once this is completed, Rahim will finally be able to return to his hometown Feroke and reunite with his grieving mother," he said.
Rahim reportedly appeared in court through a virtual link on Tuesday (July 2).
Attorney Siddique Tuvvoor and embassy official Yusuf Kakancheri were present during the proceedings. Rahim was sentenced to death in 2018 after the family of the boy refused to grant amnesty.
Over 75 organisations in the Gulf region, along with businessman Bobby Chemmannur, and political organisations in the state, worked tirelessly to meet the deadline of the amount required to be transferred to the Saudi family.
(With inputs from agencies)