A mother is pleading for authorities to free her son – a convicted murderer – because she says he has developed an “incurable disease” and meets the criteria for release on medical grounds. This is the second time the mother of prisoner Saud Al-Zahrani has made this appeal. She has also approached the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) and the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to investigate her son's medical condition. The latest report, she said, shows that he is paralyzed after developing tuberculosis in prison, she said. Al-Zahrani's mother said the report proves that he has no chance to recover and he therefore fulfils current regulations which allow a prisoner to be released on medical grounds. She said her son has spent 18 years behind bars. He has been sentenced to death. Dr. Hussein Al-Sharif, Supervisor of the NSHR in Makkah, said the society was following up on the case. Okaz has a copy of the latest medical report which contradicts the last two reports. The current report confirms that the inmate has an “incurable disease”. A source at the General Medical Commission of the Directorate General of Health Affairs in Jeddah said relevant ordinance authorizes the Minister of Interior to pardon inmates suffering from incurable diseases on humanitarian grounds. Item C of the same ordinance stipulates that if the medical committee decides that an inmate's condition necessitates his release, then a report in this regard must be submitted to the Higher Medical Committee at the Ministry of Health. However, the source added that Article 13 of the ordinance states that the pardon does not apply to those who have been sentenced to death.
