Cameron concern over Saudi lashings
Print Edition
British Prime Minister David Cameron will intervene in the case of an elderly Briton facing 350 lashes in Saudi Arabia after being caught with homemade wine 鈥 a punishment which his family said could kill him.
Karl Andree, 74, was jailed for 12 months in August last year but remains in prison awaiting further punishment for breaking strict Saudi laws prohibiting alcohol after police found the wine in his car, his family said.
鈥淭his is an extremely concerning case,鈥 Cameron鈥檚 spokeswoman told reporters yesterday. 鈥淕iven the ongoing concerns and the fact we would like to see more progress, the PM is writing today to the Saudis to further raise the case.鈥
The move underlines diplomatic tensions over human rights in Saudi Arabia, which is considered one of Britain鈥檚 closest military allies in the Middle East.
Andree鈥檚 son Simon said his father had served his time and that he regretted what happened. He said his father, who had worked for oil firms in the kingdom for some 25 years, was in poor health, had suffered cancer as well as asthma.
鈥淗e鈥檚 an old frail man and I fear this lashing sentence is potentially a death sentence for him,鈥 Simon Andree told BBC radio. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 our biggest concern, which is why we are trying to raise the case now to get him out.鈥
Britain鈥檚 Foreign Office, which warns on its website that there are severe penalties for possessing alcohol in Saudi Arabia, said embassy staff in Riyadh were checking Andree鈥檚 health regularly.
The Andree case comes just over a week after Cameron urged Saudi Arabia not to go ahead with the execution of a Shiite Muslim over his role in anti-government protests.
Cameron鈥檚 spokeswoman also said a commercial arm of the government鈥檚 justice department would be withdrawing from a 5.9-million pound (US$8.97 million) bid to provide prison training services to Saudi Arabia. The decision to bid for the contract had been criticized by lawmakers and human rights groups.
The withdrawal was consistent with plans to wind down the activities of the commercial entity, the spokeswoman said, adding that it was unrelated to the Andree case.
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