Saudi nurses to be freed with pardon

THE two British nurses jailed in Saudi Arabia after the murder of a colleague are to be freed with a pardon by King Fahd.

The Saudi ambassador to Britain, Dr Ghazi Algosaibi, said Lucille McLauchlan and Deborah Parry, jailed after the murder of Yvonne Gilford in 1996, should be home in two days.

Ms Parry, 39, was reported as having been sentenced to death, although that was never confirmed by the Foreign Office. Ms McLauchlan, 32, was sentenced to receive 500 lashes and eight years in prison. In her case the lashes were not administered.

In a statement last night the ambassador said: "In response to a petition from the families of the two British nurses convicted of murder in Saudi Arabia, the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz, issued an order commuting the sentence of the two nurses to the period they have already spent in jail and ordering their release.

"According to the judicial laws of Saudi Arabia when the next of kin in a murder case waives the right to retribution, the court can impose a discretionary jail sentence which the King can commute. This is what happened in this case. I expect the two nurses to be back in the UK in the next couple of days."

Rodger Pannone, a solicitor for Ms Parry said: "We are absolutely delighted."

Peter Watson, solicitor for the McLauchlan family, added: "The entire team would like to thank the British media for the tremendous support they have given and the sensitive treatment of this case."

Stephen Jakobi, of Fair Trials Abroad, which lobbied for the nurses to be allowed legal representation, said: "The two governments and those responsible for reaching this solution must be congratulated. It is a diplomatic coup."

Downing Street said: "This will be seen as a generous humanitarian act by the King. The Prime Minister is obviously grateful that the King has made this gesture."

Tony Blair raised the fate of the two nurses with the Saudis when he visited the country earlier this year during his tour of the Middle East.

The nurses' Saudi lawyer, Salah al-Hejailan, in Riyadh, said: "I am very pleased and grateful for the early release pardon issued by the King in this case. I think justice has been served in a perfect way, in all dimensions."

The final act, page 2