Saudi prince sentenced to life for murder

A Saudi prince was Wednesday given a life prison term for beating and strangling his aide to death in a luxury hotel in London in what the court described as the final act in a "deeply abusive" master-servant relationship.

The judge at the Old Bailey court in London ruled that Prince Saud Abdulaziz Bin Nasir al-Saud, 34, must serve a minimum term of 20 years for murdering Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz, who was aged 32.

"You were in a position of authority and trust over him which you exploited ruthlessly," Judge David Michael Bean said at the end of the three-week jury trial.

The prosecution alleged that the prince, who is a grandson of the Saudi king, was in a gay relationship with Abdulaziz, but this was rejected by his lawyers as not being relevant to the trial.

"Whether or not your relationship with him had involved sexual intercourse as well makes no difference to the sentence in this case," said the judge.

If the prince should ever return to Saudi Arabia, he could face execution, as being gay is a capital offence in the kingdom.

Abdulaziz was found dead in a luxury suite he shared with the prince in London's five-star Landmark hotel Feb 15, following what the prosecution alleged was a sustained campaign of "sadistic" abuse.

"It is very unusual for a prince to be in the dock on a murder charge. But your trial has proceeded in just the same way as anyone else's would in this court," the judge said.

"No one in this country is above the law. It would be wrong for me to sentence you either more severely or more leniently because of your membership of the royal family in Saudi Arabia," he added.

Al-Saud, a member of one of the world's wealthiest and most powerful families, had tried to claim diplomatic immunity when he was first arrested.

Prior to the opening of the trial three weeks ago, he admitted to killing his victim, but denied murder.

However, a jury found him guilty of murder, and not the lesser charge of manslaughter.

The court was shown graphic footage of a ferocious assault by al-Saud on his victim in the hotel lift Jan 22.

It also heard that the two men had spent weeks in London on extended shopping trips and frequent visits to restaurants and bars.

"The most chilling aspect of that footage is that your victim did not resist at all. He was so completely subservient to you that after being treated as a human punchbag he followed you meekly out of the lift," the judge said.

The attack which finally killed Abdulaziz left him with multiple injuries, including bleeding in the brain, a fractured larynx and bruising in the abdomen.

"To this day you have not explained why you killed him," the judge told al-Saud, who showed no emotion when sentence was passed.