A 74-year-old Briton sentenced to 360 lashes for transporting homemade wine in Saudi Arabia will be released, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond announced Wednesday.
Alcohol — like narcotics, weapons, pork and pornography — are prohibited in Saudi Arabia in line with the Middle Eastern nation’s strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.
Karl Andree has spent more than a year in custody, and his family has expressed concern he might not survive the lashing.
“Delighted to announce Brit Karl Andree will be released from Saudi custody within a week & reunited with his family,” Hammond said Wednesday on Twitter.
Hammond is in Saudi Arabia for a four-nation tour that the Foreign Office says is focused “on regional security and the challenges of extremism.”
‘I feel he won’t survive’
Andree’s son told CNN this month that while his father may have done wrong in the eyes of Saudi officials, it shouldn’t warrant what may amount to a death sentence.
“I completely understand that he has committed a crime and, for that, you have to face consequences. … He understands as well,” Simon Andree said. “But … on the basis of his ill health, (I hope) he can get clemency and get released, because I feel he won’t survive those lashes.”
He appealed for authorities there to take into account his father’s physical condition.
“He’s an old man,” the son said.
In a letter addressed to Prime Minister David Cameron this month, Simon Andree said his father needed medical care.
“He has had cancer three times, is asthmatic and has been in jail more than a year,” he said. “My mother, Verity, is dying of Alzheimer’s, and he is desperate to come home and see her through her final months.”
British leader writes to Saudi authorities about case
Cameron’s office signaled October 13 that the British leader would reach out to Saudi officials.
“Given the ongoing concerns and the fact we would like to see more progress, the PM is writing today to the Saudis to further raise the case on the back of the action that has already been taken by the Foreign Office,” Cameron’s office said.
A representative for the Foreign Office said then that diplomats had been involved in Karl Andree’s case for some time, including “regular visits to check on his welfare, and frequent contact with his lawyer and family.”
“Ministers and senior officials have raised Mr. Andree’s case with the Saudi government,” the representative said. “And we are actively seeking his release as soon as possible.”