Shahrani, the 19-year-old who committed suicide in the custody of Wadi Bin Hashbal Police about 10 days ago, has been handed over to his family following an autopsy conducted Wednesday by a forensic doctor at Khamis Mushayt Civilian Hospital.?Muhammad Hamoud, Mut'ib's brother, said the police report indicated that a rope around Mut'ib's neck caused his death. The report also noted there were bruises on some parts of the young man's body, though not fatal, he added. ?Attempts were made to convince the young man's family to drop their case because there was no evidence that someone had caused their son to commit suicide. Hamoud Sa'eed Al-Zahrani, Mut'ib's father, said after initial resistance he eventually dropped the case for the sake of Allah because only Allah can compensate him for the loss of his son. This is the second case of suicide at the same detention facility; about 18 months ago another youth killed himself there. Sources said the facility's environment is unsafe and lacks proper ventilation and air conditioning, and police there have written to authorities in an effort to get the problems addressed. Hamoud's father told Okaz/Saudi Gazette that Mut'ib was the youngest of 12 children and the only one who had not left home. All the other children had gone following marriage or employment. “He was still in the first year of secondary school,” said Hamoud Bin Saeed Al-Shahrani, 65. “We were very close and he was hoping to find a job and get married.” He said his son's death was preceded by a fight between his son and a policeman at Wadi Bin Hashbal Police Station. “He ran away, but they went after him and when they couldn't find him they took me into custody. I was in jail from 10 P.M. to 2 A.M., until they found him,” Al-Shahrani said recently. The young man's father said he went to see him the next day to deliver clothes and food, but was told to come back later. Friends and relatives also tried to visit him after Maghreb prayer on the same day but the police would not let them see him either, he added. Al-Shahrani said that at 3 A.M. the following day, he was woken by a knock on the door. “There were three policemen there, and they asked me to go down to the station with them,” he said. “I was extremely worried and when we arrived I found a whole group of officers standing there. One of them told someone to bring me some water.” Then Al-Shahrani was told that his son had died. “They took me down to the basement cells and there I saw my son hanging by the neck, a meter above the floor,” he said. “I couldn't understand how he had managed to get hold of a rope and hang it from the high window above the door or how he got up there to hang from it.” He said officers tried to convince him that his son had committed suicide and that he should not file any charges. “I refused and asked for an investigation to find out how my son died and who was responsible,” he said. Relatives of the deceased have asked the Human Rights Commission to inspect the detention area at Bin Hashbal Police Station.
