A Saudi prince was today jailed for life for beating and strangling his servant to death in the culmination of a campaign of “sadistic” abuse.
Saud Abdulaziz bin Nasser al Saud must serve a minimum term of 20 years in jail for murdering Bandar Abdulaziz in a “brutal” assault at their five-star hotel.
The prince bit the 32-year-old hard on both cheeks during the attack at their suite in February, which was said to have had a “sexual element”.
He was fuelled by champagne and 'Sex on the Beach' cocktails when he began the ferocious beating after a Valentine’s Day night out.
When arrested, he at first wrongly believed he had diplomatic immunity but his special status as a Saudi royal could not save him from British justice.
The 34-year-old, a member of one of the world’s richest and most powerful dynasties, was found guilty of murder by an Old Bailey jury after just one hour and 35 minutes of deliberation.
He was also convicted of a second count of grievous bodily harm with intent relating to a previous “nasty” attack in a lift at the Landmark Hotel, in Marylebone, central London, where the men were staying.
If he ever returns to his home country, Saud faces the possibility of execution because being gay is a capital offence there.
He could seek asylum in Britain when he is eventually released.
Sentencing him today, Mr Justice Bean said: “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 this court.
“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.”
The prince, standing in the dock with his arms crossed, showed no emotion as the sentence was handed down.
“You killed Bandar in the course of a sustained and ferocious assault. You were in a position of domination over him, as demonstrated both by the lift incident and by the sexually explicit photographs you took of him, at some point prior to February 15th, which were found on your mobile phone.
“Bandar was a vulnerable victim, entirely subjugated to your will. You were in a position of authority and trust over him which you exploited ruthlessly.
“Whether or not your relationship with him had involved sexual intercourse as well makes no difference to sentence in this case.”
Saud’s initial claim that the aide’s injuries were caused by a mugging were exposed after police discovered CCTV footage of the lift attack on January 22nd.
The judge said: “The most chilling aspect of that footage is that your victim did not resist at all. He was so completely subservient to you that after being treated as a human punchbag he followed you meekly out of the lift.”
The attack left the aide’s ear swollen to three times the normal size and “beyond medical treatment”.
Saud did not take him to hospital and inflicted a further attack in the lift on a later occasion - further evidence, said the judge of “this having been a violent and abusive relationship over a period of weeks if not longer”.
The attack which killed Mr Abdulaziz left him with so many injuries, including bleeding in the brain, a fractured larynx and bruising in the abdomen, that pathologists could not say for certain what caused his death.
Saud had murdered him between 1.40am and 2.40am and spent the next 12 hours on the phone “working out his options”.
“If you had any remorse you would have sought medical help immediately. But you were only concerned for yourself,” said the judge.
The prince told a “pack of lies” to paramedics and police before admitting he carried out the killing shortly before the trial - claiming it was manslaughter but not murder, he added.
“To this day you have not explained why you killed him.” A prosecution application for costs was adjourned to be heard on Friday.
PA