Kozhikode: The Rs 34 crore raised by a crowdfunding initiative as blood money to save the Kozhikode native, sentenced to death row in Saudi Arabia, will be handed over to the Indian Embassy on Monday, told the Legal Assistance Committee for Abdul Rahim.
Read More: Kozhikode man’s release from Saudi jail: Rs 34 cr raised in Kerala’s biggest crowdfunding
But Rahim, who had been in a Saudi prison for the last 18 years in connection with the accidental death of a Saudi citizen’s son, will have to wait for two months to get out of prison.
As soon as the family of the deceased boy submits papers in court saying it has no objection to waiving Rahim’s death sentence, the Indian Embassy will hand over the blood money to his kin. Rahim will be freed then, Mohammed Naajathi, a legal adviser in the case, said.
According to Najathi, Rahim’s death sentence happened because he didn’t know Arabic. Hence, Rahim admitted to the crime by nodding to all the questions asked by the prosecutor.
Rahim’s death sentence was put on hold after the deceased’s family agreed to accept diya (blood money) of 15 million Saudi Riyals (Rs 33.24 crore). The deal was signed on October 16, 2023, and its validity ends on April 16.