A Saudi appeals court has overturned the verdict calling for the execution of the Saudi ‘drift’ driver known as ‘Abu Kab’. His 2005 accident, which claimed the lives of three passengers in his car while he was stunt driving, has been high on the media agenda, primarily as a cautionary tale to discourage other young Saudi men from following in his footsteps. Drifting, however, remains a popular entertainment in the entertainment-lacking Kingdom.
Court Repeals Abu Kab Verdict
Wael Abdullah, Arab NewsJEDDAH, 24 March 2008 — The Appeals Court yesterday abrogated a verdict issued by a lower court calling for the execution of Faisal Al-Otaibi, known as Abu Kab. The court, however, ratified an earlier verdict related to the payment of blood money.
Abu Kab’s case has been transferred to another committee for investigation and the file will arrive at the court tomorrow, an official statement said.
The high-profile case of Abu Kab (a nickname meaning ‘the guy with the cap’) began in late 2005 when the young naval officer rented a car and took four young boys with him joyriding.
Abu Kab performed a drifting stunt at 120 kmph that resulted in a crash that led to the deaths of his three passengers. Khaled Abu Rashid, the lawyer defending Abu Kab, said the Appeals Court’s decision conformed to what they wanted.
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March:25:2008 - 06:31
There are some details that the lower cour might missed thus court of appeals rather recheck it and give proper verdict.
March:25:2008 - 07:17
So, a guy responsible for killing three others (and endangering everybody else on the road) shouldn’t be excecuted, because that punishment is too severe, but a woman who is arbitrarily accused of something as vague as witchcraft is on death row, because some loser can’t get it up and needs somebody else to blame.
Why is it called the ”judicial system”? They should rename it the life-gambling-system.