The execution last week of a Saudi prince who shot another man dead in a street brawl caused some surprise across the Western world.The dramatic punishment—carried out on the direct orders of King Salman—challenged a lazy assumption sometimes made that Saudi Arabia is a corrupt country where the rich, well-connected and the powerful get to do whatever they like.
But the beheading execution of Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir has shown that Saudi Arabia’s brand of Sharia justice applies to the wealthy and titled, too.According to reports, the prince admitted to shooting Adel al-Mohaimeed in 2012.
Although there are conservatively estimated to be some 6,000 members of the extended Saudi royal family, it is definitively not the case that Prince Turki was a particularly minor or expendable royal.
Indeed, as the prince’s name made clear, he was a direct descendant of the legendary Saud Al-Kabeer (which means “Saud the Great” or “Saud the Elder”).