A SAUDI prince who was jailed yesterday for a minimum of 20 years for murdering his manservant could use his royal connections to be transferred home much sooner.
Prince Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir al Saud, 34, was convicted overnight of killing Bandar Abdulaziz in a London hotel after weeks of sexually motivated beatings.
Sentencing him at the Old Bailey to life imprisonment, Mr Justice Bean told al Saud that his position in the Saudi monarchy would not help to reduce the minimum term.
"No one in this country is above the law," the judge said. "It would be wrong for me to sentence you either more severely or more leniently because of your membership of the royal family in Saudi Arabia."
The judge said Mr Abdulaziz, 32, had been treated as a "human punchbag".
Security camera footage showed al Saud hitting and kicking him 37 times in the hotel lift. "You were in a position of domination over him, as demonstrated by the lift incident and by the sexually explicit photographs you took of him on your mobile phone," he added.
Mr Abdulaziz's body was found in their suite at the Landmark Hotel, Marylebone, after they had been to a Valentine's Day meal and had drinks.
An analyst close to the Saudis said that although al Saud's homosexuality was an embarrassment, the authorities were likely to make diplomatic moves to bring him home.
"His father [Prince Abdulaziz] is very well respected, the family is close to the king," said the source. "It is very sensitive. They will do this for his father, not for [him]."
The source said the authorities were likely to wait for several years before recommending a prisoner transfer agreement (PTA) with Britain as part of the battle against terrorism.
Britain has PTAs with other states, allowing foreign prisoners to finish their sentences abroad and Britons jailed abroad to return home.
The Saudi source said: "If it is still the wish of the father and the king, the prince will be bought home. It will be very quiet."
A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokeswoman said that no PTA existed between the UK and Saudi Arabia, nor had the Saudis made approaches about the case or in general. Any approach would be considered on its merits.
Al Saud began his sentence last night at Belmarsh Prison, southeast London, where Islamic extremists who learnt of his identity while he was on remand have threatened him.
The Times (the Australian)
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