Mohamed Kohail

This is another situation I am following; Mohamed Kohail is a Saudi born Canadian citizen currently facing execution Saudi Arabia. Mohamed and his younger brother, Sultan, have been charged and convicted for their involvement in the death of Munzer Hiraki. The boys were confronted by a large mob that included Munzer, ostensibly over an insult Sultan had made regarding one of his assailants' sisters. The Kohails claim that some of their attackers were armed, and that Munzer's death resulted when he was struck by a wall they had hidden behind and that collapsed when a number of the brawlers tried to push it over.

Undoubtedly, the circumstances of Munzer's death are cloudy, and I sympathize with the anguish his family must feel over losing a young son in such a senseless incident. I cannot vouch completely for the Kohail's story, but what is beyond doubt is the brevity and poor quality of the judicial process that has decided upon their punishments. The Kohails were convicted after nine, 10 minute trials, only two of which their defense attorney was allowed to attend. Furthermore, the court refused to take into consideration a pair of witnesses brought forward by the defense. Beyond these shortcomings, both brothers were allegedly subjected to beatings and torture while detained prior to their trial.

Again, I would like to stress that the complete innocence of Mohammed and Sultan is not certain. But denying them anything but the most superficial and paltry chance to defend themselves against arguably the harshest punishment imaginable (death by beheading) seems unfair and immoral.

Now for some action:

Here is a link to a Facebook group dedicated to helping Mohamed. It includes links to newspaper articles regarding the case, and fax addresses for a number of Saudi politicians and royal family members with the power to influence the court's rulings.

This website contains the same fax addresses and makes some recommendations about the kind of language to included in the faxes you send.

Canadian citizens should also contact Lawrence Cannon and Beverely Oda, as well as their local parliamentary representatives about the case.

Tomorrow I will be posting additional contact information as well as pre-written letters that can be faxed to the above figures. Time is of the essence in this case, so any appeals you might send would be best faxed in promptly.�