Saudi officials are making efforts to persuade a man paralysed in a fightto accept compensation for his injuries and drop a demand that his attacker have his spinal cord severed, a judicial spokesman said on Monday. Earlier, Amnesty International said that the court in the province of Tabuk approached a number of hospitals about the possibility of paralysing the attacker in a medical operation.
According to Reuters, the spokesman for the court said it had ruled for monetary compensation to be paid to 22-year-old Abdulaziz al-Mutairi and that the Tabuk provincial governor, Prince Fahd Bin Sultan, had ordered mediation between the two sides.
The attacker has been convicted of severing Mutairi's spinal cord with a cleaver during a fight, according to Amnesty. The offender was sentenced to pay compensation but remains in jail until the amount is agreed.