Saudi prince beat servant to death at luxury London hotel

[Al-khiyal]

Saudi prince killed servant at luxury London hotel

October 5, 2010 (Reuters) -- A Saudi prince killed his servant in their room at a luxury London hotel in a ferocious beating which had a sexual element, a British court was told on Tuesday. Bandar Abdulaziz, was found dead in bed at the Landmark Hotel in central London on February 15 this year, having suffered extensive injuries, including bite marks to his cheeks, the Old Bailey jury was told. The 32-year-old had spent the previous three years travelling as an occasional companion of Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, whose father is a nephew of the Saudi king and whose mother is a daughter of the king, the court heard.

The servant had suffered "a series of heavy punches or blows to his head and face," leaving his left eye closed and swollen, his lips split open and his teeth chipped and broken, prosecutor Jonathan Laidlaw said. There were also injuries to his ears and internal bruising and bleeding to the brain, as well as severe injuries to the neck consistent with manual compression, the court was told. The prosecution said the victim also had deep bruising to the back, a rib fracture, and trauma to the stomach caused by heavy punches or kicks, the Press Association reported.

"The post-mortem examination was to reveal the ferocity of the attack to which he had been subjected before he died," Laidlaw said. It was not the first time the victim had been subjected to beatings, including one incident after which his ear needed reconstruction, he said. Closed circuit TV cameras had caught Abdulaziz being hit by the defendant in the hotel lift on January 22 and February 5 and outside a restaurant on the night leading up to his death, Laidlaw said. Saud had said his aide had been attacked and robbed on a London street three weeks before his death. Laidlaw told jurors the 34-year-old prince now admitted carrying out the killing. He denies murder and one count of grievous bodily harm with intent.

Saud said he and his servant were "friends and equals" and that he was heterosexual, jurors were told. But Laidlaw said:" The evidence establishes quite conclusively that he is either gay or that he has homosexual tendencies. The defendant's concealing of the sexual aspect of his abuse of the victim was for altogether more sinister reasons and it tends to suggest that there was a sexual element to the circumstances of the killing."

The prince and his servant had been drinking in the hotel bar until the early hours of the morning before returning to the room. The prince told police he had woken at 3 p.m. and could not rouse the victim. Bloodstains found in the room were "consistent with the victim having been the subject of a series of separate assaults before he was killed," the court was told.

[Al-khiyal]

Saudi prince found guilty of murdering his servant

October 19, 2010 -- A Saudi prince has been found guilty of murdering his servant at a hotel in central London. Bandar Abdulaziz, 32, was found beaten and strangled in the Landmark Hotel, Marylebone, on 15 February 2010. The Old Bailey was told the assault by Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud had a "sexual element" and he had attacked Mr Abdulaziz many times before he died. Al Saud, 34, had admitted manslaughter but denied murdering Mr Abdulaziz. He also denied one count of causing grievous bodily harm with intent in relation to an earlier alleged attack in a hotel lift. Al Saud will be sentenced on Wednesday.

[Al-khiyal]

Life term for Saudi prince who murdered servant

October 20, 2010 -- A Saudi prince who used his servant as a "human punchbag" has been jailed for life for beating and strangling him to death at a London hotel. Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, 34, stood with his arms folded and showed no emotion as he was told he must serve a minimum term of 20 years in jail. The prince killed 32-year-old Bandar Abdulaziz in a brutal assault with a "sexual element" at their five-star hotel in central London in February. It was the culmination of a campaign of "sadistic" abuse including a previous "nasty" assault in a hotel lift weeks before. Mr Justice Bean told the prince, who had tried to claim diplomatic immunity when he was first arrested: "No-one in this country is above the law."

Saud, a member of one of the world's wealthiest and most powerful families, did not flinch as the judge described the injuries he had inflicted on the "subservient" Mr Abdulaziz. The judge said: "I cannot be sure that you intended to kill your victim. I think the most likely explanation is that you could not care less whether you killed him or not." Saud, shaven-headed and wearing a black top, was watched from the public gallery by his father Prince Abdulaziz, looking ashen-faced and glancing between his son in the dock and the judge passing sentence.

An Old Bailey jury heard how the prince bit his victim hard on both cheeks during his murderous attack at their suite in the Landmark hotel in Marylebone. Saud was fuelled by champagne and Sex on the Beach cocktails when he began the ferocious beating after a Valentine's Day night out. He was found guilty of murder as well as a second count of grievous bodily harm with intent relating to the attack in the lift.

If he ever returns to his home country, Saud faces the possibility of execution because being gay is a capital offence there. The judge said: "It is very unusual for a prince to be in the dock on a murder charge. But your trial has proceeded in just the same way as anyone else's would in this court. No one in this country is above the law. 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."

Saud's initial claim that the aide's injuries were caused by a mugging were exposed after police discovered CCTV footage of the lift attack on January 22. The attack which killed Mr Abdulaziz left him with so many injuries, including bleeding in the brain, a fractured larynx and bruising in the abdomen, that pathologists could not say for certain what caused his death. Saud had murdered him between 1.40am and 2.40am and spent the next 12 hours on the phone "working out his options". "If you had any remorse you would have sought medical help immediately. But you were only concerned for yourself," said the judge. A prosecution application for costs was adjourned to be heard on Friday.

[Al-khiyal]

Asylum may follow killer Saudi prince's life term

LONDON, October 20, 2010 -- A Saudi prince, the grandson of King Abdullah, has been jailed for life for murdering his servant in a London hotel. Saud bin Abdulaziz bin Nasir al-Saud, 34, must serve a minimum of 20 years. ''It is very unusual for a prince to be in the dock on a murder charge,'' the judge, David Bean, told Saud as he sentenced him at the Old Bailey. ''No one in this country is above the law.'' On Tuesday the court had convicted Saud of beating and strangling Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz to death on February 15 in the climax of a long campaign of violent sexual abuse. While he must serve at least half of his term in Britain, media reports yesterday said his lawyers would claim asylum for him, maintaining he should stay in Britain for his whole sentence and after his release. Saud was exposed as a homosexual during his trial, which puts him at risk of a death sentence if he returns to Saudi Arabia. The Foreign Office stepped in before the case started to warn that he might seek leave to remain if the sexual aspect of his case became public. A Foreign Office memo said: ''We believe that the prince could be at risk of harm should the nature of the allegation against him become public knowledge. He could be at risk from members of his family, or the victim's family.'' Saud was targeted by Islamic fundamentalists while on remand because of his sexuality.

On Tuesday he showed no emotion as he was found guilty of murdering Mr Abdulaziz in the room they shared at the five-star Landmark hotel. He beat and strangled his 32-year-old aide to death after weeks of violent abuse, some of which was captured on closed-circuit TV. During the 2½-week trial, his lawyers denied he was a homosexual, despite naked pictures of Mr Abdulaziz being found on the prince's phone and police finding the 2009 Spartacus International Gay Guide in his hotel room. Media reports said Saud had contact with up to six homosexual male escorts while in London, but police had managed to trace only four. The prince tried to claim diplomatic immunity and offered a £1 million ($1.6 million) deposit to be released on bail. However, these efforts to escape prosecution were rebuffed. Saud's father, Prince Abdulaziz, collapsed and had to be treated by the Old Bailey matron after the unanimous guilty verdict.