Mazen Baleelah Al-Madinah The Saudi Embassy in Washington announced that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has pledged to pay a bond of $2 million to bail out Ziyad Tariq Abid, a 24-year-old Saudi student who has been charged with involvement in the murder of an American bar owner named William Blaine Whiteworth nearly two years ago. Abid was charged with first degree murder when he was arrested along with his friend Reginald Singletary by Missouri police who suspect both men of killing Whiteworth. Police and prosecution investigations did not find any material evidence incriminating the young Saudi man. When Singletary was asked how much Abid had paid him to kill Whiteworth, he replied that Abid did not pay him anything but promised to do so at a later date. In other words, there was nothing to prove any money transfer between Abid and the killer. All of the text messages sent during the time of the crime did not show any communications between the two. Regardless, there was some kind of relationship between the killer and the Saudi student who was in his last year at Missouri Central University as an aviation major. This relationship made the judge doubtful about Abid's innocence. The killer admitted that he had murdered the bar owner but questions were raised about the role of the Saudi student in the crime. What were the motives that made the Saudi student, who came to the US to study, approach Singletary? Missouri police have put a bracelet around Abid's foot so his movements can be monitored. The state's law stipulates life imprisonment or capital punishment for first degree murder. Missouri police also confiscated Abid's passport and aviation license as a precautionary measure to prevent him from leaving the country. The Saudi consul general said Saudi students coming to the US for the first time will be given a three-day orientation program to acquaint them with the cultural, social and legal aspects of life in America. My advice to these students is to know who to take as a friend there.
