JEDDAH — A poor Sudanese shepherd pardoned the killer of his son and refused to accept SR300,000 in blood money offered by a philanthropist. Abdullah Muhammad Al-Numair, who was working in Jeddah as a shepherd, returned home to the Sudanese city of Duwaim located on the coast of the Nile after losing his son Muhammad some 15 years ago. Muhammad was murdered by another African shepherd "Al-Ghali" while he was asleep. Al-Numair now lives in a dilapidated mud house in Sudan. Before leaving the Kingdom for Sudan, Al-Numair had filed a case at Jeddah court demanding Al-Ghali's beheading. The killer was waiting for the day of execution after spending 15 years in prison. Saleh Sarhan Al-Ghamdi, director of the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) in Jeddah, was mediating between the two families to save Al-Ghali from execution. Al-Ghamdi contacted Al-Numair by phone as the first step of mediation last Ramadan and requested him to pardon the killer of his son. "In the beginning I refused the mediation and did not agree to pardon the killer," he told Okaz/Saudi Gazette. Al-Ghamdi, who retired after serving the Social Protection Committee, asked Al-Numair to come to Jeddah as his guest to witness the execution of Al-Ghali. "I refused that offer too. But when he insisted I decided to visit Jeddah in order to attend that important moment." Three months ago, Al-Numair came to Jeddah and was received at the airport by Al-Ghamdi. "He opened his house for me and met all my travel expenses," Al-Numair said about Al-Ghamdi. "He asked me again to think about whether to pardon the killer or leave him to executioner," Al-Numair said, adding that he insisted on execution. He was then asked to visit the court and meet the judge Abdul Rahman Al-Hussaini to go through the documents prior to the execution. "Al-Ghamdi then told me that a philanthropist has given a check for SR300,000 for me and my wife in lieu of pardoning the killer. But I refused the offer and contacted my wife in Sudan to get her opinion. She also refused to accept the amount," he explained. He then informed Al-Ghamdi about the historic decision that he and his wife had pardoned the killer without any condition. Al-Ghamdi and others asked Al-Numair to accept the check considering their poor financial condition. "I want the full reward of Allah for pardoning the killer of my son, and do not want to mix it with any material benefit," Al-Numair said while praising the philanthropist for his noble act. The next day Al-Numair visited the court and declared his readiness to pardon the killer of his son, and signed the necessary documents.
