Saudi Prince jailed for life for Marylebone hotel murder
A SAUDI prince found guilty of murdering his servant at a top Marylebone hotel was jailed for life on Wednesday.
Bandera Abdulaziz, 32, was found beaten and strangled in the Landmark Hotel on Marylebone Road on February 15, 2010.
The Old Bailey was told the assault by Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud, who is believed to be gay, had a “sexual element” and he had attacked Mr Abdulaziz many times before.
Al Saud, 34, who had admitted manslaughter but denied murder, was given a minimum jail term of 20 years.
The judge Mr Justice Bean said it was “chilling” that Mr Abdulaziz had shown no resistance to the Prince’s assault which was captured on CCTV in the lifts of the Landmark.
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He told al Saud he had used his aide as a “human punchbag” and was only concerned for himself.
“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 court,” the judge said.
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“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 Saudi royal family.’’
He described the attack in the lifts as a “brutal assault” and said by failing to summon medical assistance the Prince had shown no remorse.
The Prince was told he would be first allowed to apply for parole in 2030.
The judge said he was not persuaded that the murder ‘involved some sexual indignity to the victim’ or that the murderer ‘took pleasure in the calculated infliction of pain in the course of the killing’.
Al Saud must serve 19 years having already spent one on remand.
