British pensioner will not get lashed in Saudi Arabia, says Hammond

Karl Andree (Image:Facebook)

A British pensioner, who was arrested and jailed after being caught with bottles of homemade wine in Saudi Arabia, is unlikely to be lashed by authorities, UK foreign secretary Philip Hammond has said.

Karl Andree, a retired oil executive and grandfather of seven, was arrested in Jeddah while transporting wine in his car in August last year, and has already served a 12-month jail term.

Andree’s family have said that the sentence, which also includes 350 lashes, could kill the cancer survivor, who also suffers from asthma.

But in comments made to MPs in the House of Commons, Hammond expressed his confidence in the case of Andree following correspondence between officials from the UK and Saudi Arabia.



Hammond also said he does not expect protester Ali Mohammed al-Nimr to be executed by the Gulf kingdom.

In reply to a call to update MPs about the cases of Andree and Al-Nimr, Hammond said: "As I've said on many occasions previously when I've been asked to comment on these judicial matters in Saudi Arabia in the House - our judgment is we achieve most by speaking privately but regularly to our Saudi interlocutors.

"Let me say to you that I do not expect Mr Andree to receive the lashings that he has been sentenced to and I do not expect Mr al-Nimr to be executed," he added in comments published by the Daily Mail.

Al-Nimr was arrested in 2012 for reportedly being involved in Arab Spring protests in Qatif, in the country's Eastern Province.


A group of independent United Nations human rights experts have urged the Saudi Arabian government to stop Al-Nimr's execution.