Misha'al bint Fahd al Saud

Short Biography

Princess Misha'al bint Fahd (1958 – 15 July 1977; Arabic: الأميرة مشاعل بنت فهد بن محمد بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود‎) was a member of House of Saud, who was executed by gunshot for alleged adultery in 1977, at the age of 19. She was a granddaughter of Prince Muhammad bin Abdulaziz, who was an older brother of King Khalid.EducationHer family sent Misha'al bint Fahd, at her own request, to Lebanon to attend school. While there, she fell in love with a man, Khaled al-Sha'er Mulhallal, the nephew of Ali Hassan al-Shaer, the Saudi ambassador in Lebanon, and they began an affair. When, upon their return to Saudi Arabia, it emerged that they had conspired to meet alone on several occasions, a charge of adultery was brought against them. She attempted to fake her own drowning and was caught trying to escape from Saudi Arabia with Khaled. Although she was disguised as a man, she was recognized by a passport examiner at Jeddah airport. She was subsequently returned to her family. Under Sharia law, a person can only be convicted of adultery by the testimony of four adult male witnesses to the act of sexual penetration, or by their own admission of guilt, stating three times in court "I have committed adultery." There were no witnesses. Her family urged her not to confess, but instead to merely promise never to see her lover again. On her return to the courtroom, she allegedly repeated her confession: "I have committed adultery. I have committed adultery. I have committed adultery." This account has been challenged by the docudrama Death of a Princess, which claims the princess and her lover were never actually tried in court.