THE TELEGRAPH: A Saudi judge has asked several hospitals to paralyse a man by damaging his spinal cord as punishment after he was convicted of attacking another man, the brother of the victim said on Thursday.
Abdul-Aziz al-Mutairi, 22, was left paralysed and subsequently lost a foot after a fight more than two years ago.
He asked a judge in north-western Tabuk province to impose an equivalent punishment on his attacker, his brother Khaled al-Mutairi told The Associated Press.
He claimed one of the hospitals, located in Tabuk, responded that it was possible to damage the spinal cord, but it added that the operation would have to be done at another more specialised facility.
Saudi newspapers reported that a second hospital in the capital Riyadh declined, apparently on ethical grounds, saying it could not inflict such harm.
Administrative offices of two of the hospitals and the sharia court in Tabuk were closed for the Saudi weekend beginning on Thursday and could not be reached for comment. >>> | Friday, August 20, 2010
