Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ordered government officials to seek clemency for a Montreal man facing execution in Saudi Arabia for killing a teen, a senior government source told CBC News.Mohamed Kohail, 23, was sentenced to beheading after he was convicted of killing a student in a schoolyard brawl in 2007.Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said his department will do what it can to help the man's family appeal the death sentence.It's unclear when Canada will make a clemency request for Kohail, who is jailed in the city of Jeddah. The appeal window closes in 30 days. Bernier said he hopes Saudi officials make a "decision that will be in line" with Canadian values.Kohail grew up in Saudi Arabia but moved to Montreal with his family as a teenager. The family had temporarily relocated back to the Middle Eastern country to attend a wedding but planned to return to Quebec where they still own a home.In January 2007, Kohail allegedly became embroiled in a brawl after his 16-year-old brother, Sultan, called him to the school asking for help. Sultan wanted his brother to defend him after being accused by a schoolmate of insulting a girl.According to his brother's account, Kohail arrived at the school with a friend to find a group of men waiting for him armed with clubs and knives. A fight erupted and a student died in the clash.Both Kohail and his brother were arrested and jailed, though there are media reports his younger brother has since been freed.Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976 and has often lobbied foreign governments for clemency for citizens facing execution.Last November, however, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day indicated a change in policy when he stated that the government would no longer help Canadians convicted of murder in democratic countries that support the rule of law.http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/080305/canada/montreal_kohail_foreign_affairs_2
As in the days of Noah....