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Foreign Office concerned by reports of man sentenced to paralysis in Saudi Arabia

FCO expresses deep concern at reported sentence of paralysis and urges Saudi authorities to ensure grotesque punishment is not carried out

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Responding to reports that a Saudi Arabian court had ruled a prisoner should be surgically paralysed unless his family paid reparations to his victim, an FCO Spokesperson said:

We are deeply concerned by reports that a Saudi Arabian court has sentenced a man to be paralysed in retribution for causing the paralysis of a friend when he was fourteen years old. We urge the Saudi authorities to ensure that this grotesque punishment is not carried out. Such practices are prohibited under international law and have no place in any society.

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Published 4 April 2013