Saudi jail releases Noushad

Thiruvananthapuram, Apr 5 (UNI) Abdul Lateef Noushad, the Keralite pardoned in Saudi Arabia following the Indian Government's intervention, has been released from the Dammam Central Jail there.

The Saudi Shariat court had handed down an 'eye-for-an-eye' sentence on Noushad, who blinded a Saudi citizen, Naif Uthebi, in one eye during a scuffle at a petrol pump over money three years ago.

King Abdulla Bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud's intervention got Noushad a pardon, a release from the Chief Minister's Office here today said.

Stating this was an achievement for the State Overseas Department, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said he was grateful and obliged to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Union Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed for taking effective steps for the release.

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