CAUGHT ON TV: BRUTAL ATTACK SAUDI PRINCE BEFORE HE KILLED A SERVANT
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1317865/Gay-Saudi-prince-sexually-abused-battered-manservant-death-hotel.html
Caught on CCTV: Moment gay Saudi prince attacked manservant in hotel lift… months before he ‘sexually abused and battered him to death’
By Tom Kelly
Last updated at 10:28 AM on 6th October 2010
A Saudi prince beat his manservant lover to death in a ‘ferocious’ sexually motivated attack at an exclusive London hotel, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.
Saud Abdulaziz Bin Nasir Al Saud, the grandson of the billionaire king of Saudi Arabia, murdered Bandar Abdulaziz after subjecting him to weeks of physical and sexual abuse, the jury was told.
The royal allegedly downed champagne and six Sex on the Beach cocktails before repeatedly punching his 32-year-old aide in the head, knocking out teeth and leaving him with severe brain injuries in the suite they shared at the five-star Landmark Hotel in Marylebone.
Trial: Al Saud, left, on his way to City of Westminster magistrates court in a prison van for his original hearing following the death of Bandar Abdulaziz, right
He also strangled Mr Abdulaziz with such force that he fractured bones in the servant’s neck and bit him on both cheeks in way that clearly had a ‘sexual connotation’, the court heard.
Al Saud, 34, allegedly tried to ‘cover his tracks’ by cleaning up blood from the attack before raising the alarm. He was said to have at first told police Mr Abdulaziz had suffered the injuries in a robbery.
The prince later changed his story and admitted killing his servant, but he denies murder and one count of grievous bodily harm with intent.
The pair arrived in London in December last year for the final leg of an extended world holiday. They had visited Prague, Milan, Marrakesh and the Maldives, apparently using the Spartacus International Gay Guide as a travel planner.
Al Saud enjoyed a party lifestyle in the capital, rising late and spending the afternoons shopping before eating out and going to nightclubs until the early hours.
He was spotted flirting with barmen and used male prostitutes at least twice during his stay, the jury was told.
The prince told police he was a ‘friend and equal’ of Mr Abdulaziz, the adopted son of middle-class Saudi parents, and that his aide travelled with him everywhere.
But the court heard how Mr Abdulaziz flew in economy while Al Saud went first class. It was also said the servant walked two steps behind his master and slept most nights on the floor of the hotel room they shared.
Jonathan Laidlaw QC, prosecuting, said: ‘Theirs was a far more complicated relationship than the defendant was prepared to admit and there was an abusive undertone to it.
‘Bandar was treated as an aide or servant and there was a far more sinister aspect to the defendant’s treatment of the victim.
‘He would beat Bandar up and the abuse was not confined to physical violence – there was a sexual element to it as well.’
Family: Al Saud’s father Prince Abdulaziz, left, and brother Prince Faisal arriving at the Old Bailey yesterday
The jury saw CCTV footage of an earlier attack in which Al Saud bared his teeth as he subjected Mr Abdulaziz to blows with his fists and elbows in the hotel lift on January 22.
Mr Laidlaw said: ‘What is also evident from the victim’s behaviour is that he had become by this point almost entirely submissive.
‘He could not or did not at any stage offer any sort of resistance, attempt to fight back or even to raise his hand to the defendant.’
The attack left Mr Abdulaziz’s ear three times its normal size and requiring reconstructive surgery.
On February 14, the night of the alleged murder, the pair went for a Valentine’s meal before returning to their hotel just before midnight.
A guest in the room below recalled hearing raised voices and what sounded like furniture being knocked over.
The following afternoon Al Saud called a contact at the Saudi Embassy, who arrived at the room to find him ‘very upset and crying’ beside his lifeless servant.
Hotel staff recalled Mr Abdulaziz lying dead in the bed as Al Saud sobbed and told an unknown caller on the phone: ‘I don’t believe it.’
The Landmark Hotel: Where Mr Abdulazis’ body was found
Police experts found forensic evidence from Al Saud on Mr Abdulaziz’s underwear. Despite this, the prince continued to deny he was gay.
But Mr Laidlaw said: ‘The evidence establishes quite conclusively that he is either gay or that he has homosexual tendencies.
‘There is clear evidence, over and above the bite marks, that there was also a sexual element to his mistreatment of the victim.’
A search of the prince’s laptop revealed he looked at gay massage and escort agency websites, jurors were told.
Al Saud’s mother is the daughter of King Abdullah. His father, Prince Abdulaziz, who is the nephew of the king, watched from the public gallery as his shaven-headed son sat in the dock following proceedings through an Arabic interpreter.
The trial continues.
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