BEagle raises a very interesting point here. A recent post here on PPRuNe, dealt precisely with the issue of Shariah law in Saudi Arabia, dealing with hijacking aircraft.
JEDDAH, 6 September — The trial of two Chechens, Leriskhan Arsaiev and Deni Magomerzaiev, who hijacked a Russian plane to Madinah earlier this year, has started in Saudi Arabia, the chairman of the Kingdom’s Supreme Judiciary Council disclosed yesterday.
Sheikh Saleh ibn Muhammad Al-Laheedan said the two defendants, who are being tried in accordance with the Shariah law, would not have defense lawyers.
“Such cases do not require a defense lawyer,” Laheedan, who is also a member of the Council of Senior Islamic Scholars, told Okaz Arabic daily.
“The hijacking occurred, the hijackers are known, and they have admitted their crime. Even assuming they had a reason (to carry out the hijacking), this in no way gave them an excuse for hijacking the plane and terrorizing its passengers,” he said. He did not say when the trial opened, but suggested a ruling was expected soon.
Sheikh Laheedan defended the Kingdom’s decision, announced Sunday by Interior Minister Prince Naif, to try the two Chechens despite a request by Russian President Vladimir Putin that they be handed over to Moscow.
There is no extradition treaty between Moscow and Riyadh.
“The crime occurred in the Kingdom, and it does not allow those who commit crimes on its territory to stand trial in another country,” Laheedan said.
A Russian hostess and a Turkish passenger died when Saudi special forces stormed the plane March 16, a day after three hijackers took over the aircraft on a flight from Istanbul to Moscow, and forced it to land in Madinah. The hijackers were demanding an end to the Russian offensive in Chechnya. The third hijacker, Soupian Arsaiev, was also killed during the operation to free the 120 passengers aboard the Vnoukovo Airlines plane.
The original post is at;
http://www.pprune.org/cgibin/ultimat...c&f=1&t=015315