Masha'il bint Fahd al Saud

Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud (1958 – 1977) ( _ar. الأميرة مشاعل بنت فهد بن محمد آل سعود) was a Saudi Arabian Princess who was executed, although it has been claimed that she was illegally killed [ [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/princess/interviews/thomas.html frontline: death of a princess: a talk with antony thomas | PBS ] ] , in 1977, at the age of 19. She was a granddaughter of Prince Muhammad bin Abdul Aziz, who was an older brother of the then-King of Saudi Arabia, Khalid bin Abdul Aziz.

Her family sent her, at her own request, to Lebanon to attend school. While there, she and the nephew of the Saudi Ambassador fell in love and began an affair. They continued the affair in secret after their return to Saudi Arabia. After attempting to fake her own drowning and being caught trying to escape from Saudi Arabia with her lover, she was tried. Under Sharia law, a person can only be convicted of adultery by the testimony of actual witnesses to the act, or by their own admission of guilt, stating three times in court "I have committed adultery." There were no witnesses. Her family urged her not to confess, but instead to merely promise never to see her lover again. On her return to the court room, she repeated her confession: "I have committed adultery. I have committed adultery. I have committed adultery." She was executed contrary to Sharia law, since she was not married. Also, the Ambassador's nephew was executed on the same day (it is unknown if he was married).

Controversy

According to Antony Thomas, there was no trial nor was there an official execution. [ [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/princess/interviews/thomas.html frontline: death of a princess: a talk with antony thomas | PBS ] ]

A good argument can also be made that according to Sharia law, fornication is punishable by flogging while it is adultery that is punishable by death, and death by stoning at that. Since the princess was unmarried, her punishment should have been only flogging.

Her death and events that led up to it are believed to have been the inspiration for the fictionalized docu-drama "Death of a Princess" (1980):

References

External links

* [http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/princess/ PBS - Death of a Princess]
* [http://qatardiary.blogspot.com/2005/08/death-of-princess.html The Qatar Diary - Death of a Princess] - 10/08/05