Dammam: An appeal court in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has upheld the death sentence given to six persons, including two Keralites, in the Sameer murder case by the Dammam Criminal Court.
Those who were awarded death sentences are Keralites Nizam Saddiq of Eriyad from Kodungallur in Thrissur district and Ajmal Hameed of Kuttiyadi in Kozhikode district as well as Saudi nationals Hussain, Azwad, Idris (Abu Rawan) and Ali.
Sameer's body was found in a waste bin, near a workshop, in Jubail five years ago.
Sameer, a hawala agent, was abducted by a group of Saudi nationals and held hostage for three days. Later, he was beaten to death in connection with a dispute over the non-repayment of money.
The police investigation revealed that it was Nizam and Ajmal who gave tip-offs to the gang about the movements of Sameer.
Mercy petition
The family members of the two convicted Keralites are now planning to move a mercy petition before the Saudi ruler through the Indian Embassy.
But the mercy petition will succeed only if Sameer’s family, which includes wife and 2 little children, is willing to forgive the two.