Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Saudi Prince Guilty of Murdering Servant / Lover


34yo Prince Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir al Saud (Now that is a mouthful), admitted to beating his servant in a luxury London hotel in Feb. to death but pleaded not guily to charges of murder.

Throughout the trial several witnesses and tabloids alleged that the two were lovers. The prince denied this claim repeatedly, though the court heard testimony that the prince had ordered gay escorts in London and had frequently looked at websites for gay massage parlors and escort agencies.

Homosexuality is illegal in Saudi Arabia, and, as prosecutor Bobbie Cheema told England's Old Bailey central criminal court during the trial, it “carries the death penalty, which is still applied in some cases.”

During the two-week trial, the court heard that the prince and his servant had been staying at London's Landmark Hotel for nearly a month as part of an “extended holiday” that had also taken them to Italy, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Morocco.

The prince, who will be sentenced Wednesday, faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.

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