A British businessman who ran an illicit drinking club...

A British businessman who ran an illicit drinking club in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to 800 lashes in a secret trial. Gary O'Nions also faces eight years in jail and a £400,000 fine as the Saudi authorities try to resolve the fate of a group of British businessmen accused of being involved in an alleged turf war between rival bootleggers.
Five Britons- Alexander Mitchell, James Cottle, Les Walker, Peter Brandon and James Lee- facing the death penalty for their alleged involvement in a bombing campaign may now be spared because the Saudis have signalled that they will drop murder charges hanging over them.
The worsening violence in the Middle East has prompted the Saudi authorities to end the uncertainty over the Britons, whom they had accused of staging a series of bomb attacks, said to have begun in November 2000.
Investigators claimed that the five men had planted bombs to kill and injure rivals in the lucrative but illegal drinks trade, which is worth millions of pounds in the kingdom.
Months of diplomatic protests are believed to have lifted the threat of execution against the Britons, whose families claim that they were forced to confess to being part of a bombing campaign.