RIYADH: A court in the southern city of Abha overturned an earlier conviction of an Indian youth accused of murdering a Saudi national at a local farm.
During a second hearing early this week, the court found that Abu Rafi, the 22-year-old Indian worker, who was sentenced to death after the initial trial, was not guilty and that he acted in self-defense when his victim, Maadi bin Saad Al-Qahtani, sodomized him at knife-point.
Rafi’s father Javed Ahmed thanked the defense attorney, Indian diplomats and community leaders after the verdict was read out. “We are expecting the release of Rafi from the Abha prison within a few weeks from now,” said the father.
Rafi, who hails from the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, testified that he was on his way to his ranching job when Maadi pushed him down an alley and, at knifepoint, sodomized him. When the assailant became more aggressive, Rafi managed to snatch the knife and stabbed him. Rafi was charged with murder by inflicting multiple stab injuries.
The incident took place in the village of Khams, which is close to the Daher Mountains of Sarat Obaid near Abha. Rafi, in his confession, claimed that he killed the man while he raped him. Medical examiners confirmed this.
Rafi’s father said his son had no intention to kill the man, but he stabbed him a number of times to save himself from the assault.
Asked about the police and medical reports, Basheer Eangapuzha, president of India Fraternity Forum, a community organization that actively supported Rafi’s father to defend his son in court, said that “the victim definitely died because of the stab wounds. But, the injuries were inflicted in self-defense.”
Rafi came to Saudi Arabia only three months back and had been working as a driver and a herdsman for the cattle of his sponsor.
Eangapuzha, who thanked officials of Indian Embassy and Indian Consulate General for their support in the case, said that the decision of the court for acquittal would be sent to Riyadh High Court, which will eventually clear the decks for Rafi’s release.
