LONDON: A British court ruled yesterday that two Saudi princes involved in litigation in London over a business dispute did not have immunity from being sued, a new blow to the royal pair after they failed in an attempt to have the case heard in secret.
The elderly Prince Mishal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, one of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz’s brothers, and his son Prince Abdulaziz bin Mishal, had argued that they had immunity as members of the monarch’s household. But in a 45-page ruling that delved into Saudi royal genealogy, judge Geoffrey Vos said the two princes did not meet the requirements of Britain’s State Immunity Act. The princes plan to appeal against Vos’s judgment.
The litigation, which has been going through British courts since December 2011, stems from sales in 2010 and 2011 of shares in Fi Call Ltd, a company jointly owned by Prince Abdulaziz and Jordanian businessman Faisal Almhairat. The pair have fallen out and accuse each other of serious wrongdoing. Details of the allegations have so far remained secret because the prince and his father have argued that it would be damaging to Saudi Arabia’s relations with Britain and the United States to air them in open court.
They have also asserted that Prince Abdulaziz would be “at risk of serious personal injury or death from reprisals” if details of one of the disputed transactions were made public.
Rafsanjani’s daughter freed
TEHRAN: The daughter of Iran’s former president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was released yesterday after serving a six-month sentence on charges of propaganda against the regime, her lawyer told the Isna news agency.
Lawyer Sohrab Soleimani said Faezeh Hashemi, who was arrested in late September and taken to Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, was released in the early hours of Tuesday, Isna reported.
Hashemi was among thousands arrested for taking part in protests that erupted after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was given a second term in a 2009 election amid claims by the opposition that the vote was rigged.
Agencies
