TWO HAVE DEATH PENALTIES COMMUTED IN SAUDI ARABIA

the governor of Mecca Province, Prince Makkah Abdelmageed bin Abdelaziz, who heads a committee for securing forgiveness for convicted murderers, helped spare two lives from death by the sword. The men were involved in two separate killings. The first murdered his cousin; the second, his brother. Both were Saudis. The families of the murderers tapped into a law that derives from the Islamic Sharia law called the "Pardon Provisions." This unique pardoning system, which has come under criticism mostly by Western human rights groups, allows the blood-owners to offer a pardon in return for a dya - a sum of money or other compensation for the death, also known as blood money.