Saudi Arabia: Turk Sentenced To Die For Islamic Blasphemy
News from Arab News (1), Arab News (2), Turkish Press, Los Angeles Times, Hurriyet, Zaman and blog Impudent Observer:
Sabri Bogday is a Turkish barber, who has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for blasphemy against Islam. He had gone from Hatay province in southeast Turkey to the Saudi kingdom in 1997 and opened a barbershop.
Officials at Jeddah General Court confirmed on April 16 this year that they were supervizing a trial of Mr Bogday for "swearing at Allah".The president of the court, Sheikh Rashid Al-Hazza’a, was on leave. 13 months months back, Mr Bogday had an argument with an Egyptian neighbor, who ran a tailor's shop. Following this row, Mr Bogday was accused by the Egyptian of blaspheming, and was placed in jail, where he has remained since. The Egyptian tailor, meanwhile, has disappeared and did not enter any testimony at the trial. However, his original desposition stands and was the basis of the court case.
A lawyer from Riyadh said that in cases of this nature, interpretation of what is Sharia rested upon a personal interpretation by the judge. Abdul Rahman Al-Lahem said: "Some judges consider it heresy and infidelity, and say that the accused cannot repent and so faces death penalty. Others consider the statement to be disbelief, thus allow the accused to retract what he has said and repent and then set him free."
As noted in February in the case of the Jordanian woman Fawza Falih who is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia for "witchcraft" - there is no crime of "witchcraft" under Saudi law. Mustapha Ibrahim, an Egyptian pharmacist, was beheaded for "sorcery" on November 2, 2007.
Al-Lahem sated: "If two people have an argument, the testimony of one of the two against the other cannot be legally accepted... Sentences in these cases are limited and considered rare, because the judgment is not based on something that is written."
In Turkey, prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and also prime minister Abdullah Gul have written letters asking for a pardon to be issued.
With the pressure from Turkey, the Saudi authorities have been more forthcoming on details. Mr Bogday appeared at Jeddah General Court on June 13, 2007. His case was presided over by three judges: Sheikh Muhammad Al-Aamer, Sheikh Fahd Al-Ammari and Sheikh Ibrahim Al-Lihidan.
According to court sources there were two witnesses - one EGyptian and one Saudi. Mr Bogday apparently admitted to swearing at God, and said that he had not been in any "conflict" with the witnesses. If a grudge or long-running vendetta exists between two parties, under Saudi law the evidence of one against the other is invalid.
Mr Bogday was not given a chance to repent by the court. However, the sentence has been passed and because of its nature, the death sentence cannot be over-ruled by King Abdullah. In the case of the young woman who was gang-raped and then sentenced to 200 lashes and six months' imprisonment, King Abdullah intervened. As this is a "hadd" ruling (a divine ruling based directly upon the Koran), it is beyond his jurisdiction. In judicial interpretations of Sharia and also "hadd" the plaintiff has a right to appeal.
For Mr Bogday, his right of appeal came three weeks ago. The ruling, based upon his previous admission and the testimony of the two witnesses, was upheld. Mr Bogday had decided to retract his earler confession during the appeal, but this appears to have been ignored.
The verdict is not, however, final. Now that it has received complaint, there is some hope that the Turkish Consulate will provide a lawyer for the Appeals Court. Before an execution can happen, the case must go through the Appeals Court, the Supreme Judicial Court and then the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (King Abdullah).
On Thursday in Turkey, Mr Bogday's mother Atra said to the press: "Give me my son back. I want my son. Please save my son" Mr Bogday's wife, 26year old Muazzez Bogday, who is mother to their infant son Suleyman, was too distraught to speak.
The World Coalition, an anti-capital punishment group said that of 158 people who were executed in Saudi Arabia in 2007, 76 of these were foreigners. The group said that migrant workers were at greater risk of having death sentences carried out.
The group noted: "Saudi Arabian justice is particularly intransigent towards foreign workers and especially those from poor countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, who represent nearly a quarter of the country's population."
"On occasion, their sentence depends solely on confessions obtained under constraint, torture or subterfuge. Trials take place in secret and the accused and their families are not informed of the accusations against them or the evolution of the procedures concerning them."