Clemency Sought for Kohail

Canada is going to bat for Mohamed Kohail, the young Canadian kid who faces beheading in Saudi Arabia.

Apparently Harpo has decided that his new policy on clemency interventions applies in this case. What that means is that Canada goes to Riyadh having concluded that their justice system stinks because, if it was a fair trial, we wouldn’t intervene.

Now I’ve come to you asking for a favour for a condemned criminal because your justice system sucks. That’s the double bind to Harpo’s policy. When you ask for consideration you effectively tell the only guy who can give it that you think he’s a shit. That might not always sit well, don’t you think?

 

Canadian Kid to be Beheaded by Saudis

Remember the name, Mohamed Kohail, you’ll be hearing it a lot in the next couple of months.

The 16-year old has been convicted of murder in Saudi Arabia and sentenced to public beheading. He has 80-days in which to appeal his sentence.

Turns out it was a schoolyard brawl in which Kohail, came to aid of his brother, Sultan, after he was beset by a gang of a dozen boys, some allegedly armed, who claimed he’d insulted a girl. A punch was thrown and one of the gang. the girl’s cousin, fell dead.

Kohail’s family says he was often denied access to his lawyer and convicted in a bizarre trial that consisted of nine, 10-minute court sessions.

The Kohail family had gone to Saudi Arabia to attend a relative’s wedding, apparently a protracted ritual that entails three ceremonies.