Riyadh: Saudi Arabia denied on Tuesday reports that a court in the kingdom has ordered a punishment of paralysis for a man who committed a crime that paralysed another man.
The reports about the sentence, which sparked condemnation after Amnesty International urged the Saudi authorities to annul it, were "false," a justice ministry spokesman said.
The ministry also used its Twitter account to refute the reports about the sentence, which Britain`s Foreign Office described as "grotesque".
"In response to reports by some media about a court sentence of paralysis for a man, the ministry clarifies that such a claim is completely false," it said.
The ministry said that, to the contrary, "the judge decided to dismiss demands for such a sentence".
It urged media outlets and groups that "claim to lobby for rights," in a clear indication to Amnesty, to "verify" information.
Amnesty said last week that Ali al-Khawahir, 24, was reportedly sentenced to Qisas, or retribution, and could be paralysed from waist down if he fails to pay compensation of one million riyals ($270,000).
The London-based human rights watchdog said Khawahir had stabbed a friend of his in the back in 2003, leaving him paralysed. The convict was 14 years old at the time.
It said a similar sentence of paralysis was given in Saudi Arabia in 2010, but that it was unknown whether it had been carried out.
The ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom imposes several forms of corporal punishment attributed to Islamic sharia law, ranging from flogging to amputation and beheading.
AFP