Pictured: The Saudi prince accused of murdering his servant in five-star hotel room

By Stephen Wright for the Daily Mail
Updated: 19:38 EST, 19 February 2010


Saud

Suspect: Al Saud on his way to court in a prison van yesterday

This is the first picture of the multi-millionaire Saudi prince accused of killing his servant.

Staring straight ahead, Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir Bin Abdulaziz al Saud is shown sitting in a prison van as he was taken to court yesterday.

The 33-year-old faced a charge of murdering Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz, 32, at the five-star Landmark Hotel in central London.

He was found dead on Monday and had suffered head injuries and been strangled.

Shaven-headed al Saud, the son of a nephew of King Adbullah, appeared in court dressed in a white tracksuit.

Assisted by an interpreter, the prince listened closely during the five-minute hearing before City of Westminster magistrates.

He spoke only to confirm his name and give his address as the Landmark Hotel, where he has been staying for four weeks in a room costing around £1,000 a night.

Unusually for a first appearance in court, he was represented by leading criminal defence barrister, Michael Wolkind QC.

He is one of the top ten highest-paid barristers from legal aid in the country, earning £687,000 in the year to March 2008.

But given al Saud's wealth, there is no prospect of the taxpayer having to fund his case. 

The Landmark Hotel

The Landmark hotel in central London, where a man's body was found

In a short address, Mr Wolkind referred to the defendant as 'the prince' and said the case was a 'wrongful accusation'.

He said: 'We look forward to a trial when we will expose a prosecution case which has turned a friendship with the deceased into a forced relationship of master and servant, and a prosecution case which has turned a genuine tragedy into a wrongful accusation of murder.'

Al Saud is also charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm with intent on the victim at the same hotel on January 22.

He was remanded in custody as, under new legislation, District Judge Timothy Workman cannot consider bail in murder cases. A bail application will be made at the Old Bailey.

A plea and case management hearing was set for May 28.

The prince, who came to London for a sightseeing trip, has not formally entered a plea but is expected to deny the charges.






 

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