According to the Ministry of Interior, al-Naqshabandi's death sentence was reviewed by the Appeals Committee (hay'at al-tamiz) and the Higher Judicial Council, who on December 2, 1996 (21 Rajab 1417), ordered the sentence to be carried out. Al-Naqshabandi was executed Friday, December 13, 1996 (3 Sha`ban 1417), almost three years after his arrest. Contrary to usual practice, there appears to have been no court session for either the conviction or the sentencing, and apparently al-Naqshabandi did not even know that he had been sentenced to death.52 Family members and friends who visited al-Naqshabandi in prison on Monday and Tuesday, December 9 and 10, 1996, say that he was in good spirits and promised them that he would be released soon. Indeed, al-Naqshabandi's wife only learned that her husband had been executed when she was telephoned by his brother, who had read it in a newspaper.
In announcing the execution, the Ministry of Interior charged that al-Naqshabandi "undertook the practice of works of magic and spells and possession of a collection of polytheistic and superstitious books."53 It then justified the execution by arguing that "in view of what magic and witchcraft produce in the way of serious damages to the individual and society with respect to religion, the soul, money and rationality, [and] in that what the defendant did has in it great harm worthy of the severe punishment that cuts short his evil and deters others, it was decided he be sentenced to the discretionary punishment of death."54
The al-Naqshabandi family alleges that when the Syrian ambassador to Saudi Arabia approached the Governor of Riyadh - Prince Salman bin `Abd al-`Aziz, who is also an uncle of al-Naqshabandi's employer - the governor admitted that al-Naqshabandi had been wrongfully executed and offered the family compensation in the form of blood money (diya);55 when the family demanded an apology as well the offer was withdrawn. The ambassador also submitted a formal written request to the governor of Riyadh asking that al-Naqshabandi's bodybe returned to his family for burial in Syria, a request that was not honored.56 The family also wrote letters to King Fahd and the Governor of Riyadh asking for an investigation but never received answers.
In addition to the loss of a loved one, the al-Naqshabandi family also suffered serious financial losses and harassment because of the arrest and execution of `Abd al-Karim Mara`i al-Naqshabandi. In his letter to the judge, al-Naqshabandi details more than 224,870 Riyal (US $59,816) in back pay, severance pay and un-reimbursed loans owed to him by Prince Salman, which the prince forced him to renounce in front of witnesses just prior to his arrest. With her husband in prison, al-Naqshabandi's wife was forced to sell their household furnishings to pay for food and shelter for herself and her children while they waited in Saudi Arabia for his release.57
Al-Naqshabandi's brother Ahmad, who also worked in Saudi Arabia, was arrested shortly after the execution, while he was receiving visitors offering condolences over his brother's death. The family claims that five officers who identified themselves as members of the General Investigations police (al-mubahith al-`amma) searched the house and confiscated all the documents pertaining to al-Naqshabandi's case, and that Ahmad was accused of "more than twenty charges," including slandering the person of the king (sabb that al-malikiya) and damaging Saudi Arabia's reputation because he had spoken out about his brother's case.58 He spent one and a half months at the General Investigations Center (markaz al-mubahith al `amma) in Abha before his passport and residency permit were confiscated and he was transferred to house arrest (iqama jabriya). Lacking proof of his right to be in Saudi Arabia, he could not leave home without risking arrest, and he thus had to give up his job as a school teacher. Other conditions of his release included having to check in at the General Investigations office every week. In June he was finally notified by General Investigations that he could leave Saudi Arabia, and he returned to Syria on July 8, 1997.
52 Lawyers practicing in Saudi Arabia have told Human Rights Watch that with the exception of political prisoners, defendants receiving the death sentence and sometimes their families as well are usually present at the sentencing. "While the date for the execution is not usually given at the time of sentencing, the defendant is always present. I've never heard of a secret sentence in Islamic law or Saudi law." Human Rights Watch/Middle East telephone interview, a lawyer practicing in Saudi Arabia, name withheld by request, August 1997. 53 "The Killing of a `Sorcerer and Magician' ...," Al-jazira. 54 Ibid. 55 Islamic law provides that heirs of a homicide victim are entitled to compensation; in the case of intentional homicide this payment can be an alternative to retaliation against the murderer. See Lerrick and Mian, Saudi Business and Labor Law, pp. 330-44 for a discussion of diya as it is applied in Saudi Arabia. 56 Letter from `Amr al-Sayyid, Syrian ambassador to Syria, to Prince Salman bin `Abd al-Aziz, Governor of the Riyadh Region, dated December 15, 1996 (5 Sha`ban 1417). 57 Al-Naqshabandi also describes being visited in prison by his landlord to arrange the sale of the family's air conditioners and telephone to pay part of the back rent. Submission 3, p. 5. 58 Human Rights Watch/Middle East telephone interview, a close relative, name withheld, Syria, July 10, 1997.