It's been an 18-year wait for the mother, whose prayers have finally been answered.
The return was made possible by a massive fundraising campaign of Rs 34 million which was given as blood money by order of a Saudi Arabian court. The court ruled that if the money was not delivered, Rahim would be executed.
The money was delivered in April. The court relented after the Saudi family accepted the money that allowed the judicial process for his release to begin.
Rahim's mother cannot hide her excitement and on Friday she said that she wants to see her son as soon as possible.
“Even if he calls me, that is not enough, I simply cannot wait any longer to see my son and I want him to come as soon as possible,” said Fatima.
Rahim's nephew is also excited and said the Saudi court asked Rahim's lawyer to be present on Sunday.
“The lawyer has told us that on Sunday we will know when Rahim will finally be released. And once released, they will put him on a flight back home, which the whole town is waiting for,” the nephew said.
“After the orders came for his release, every minute seems like hours,” the nephew added.
Rahim, an auto driver here, was attracted to the Gulf to earn more money. He arrived in Saudi Arabia in 2006 and got a job as a personal driver and caregiver for a physically disabled 15-year-old boy, who also had a medical condition whereby he breathed through an external device attached to his body.
The boy, according to Rahim, misbehaved with him one day while he was driving. While he was trying to calm him down, his hand accidentally touched the external medical device which disconnected and the boy died.
A court in Saudi Arabia convicted him of murder and the appeal court upheld this verdict in 2022. The decision was later upheld by the country's Supreme Court.
Then, after numerous arguments with the Saudi family, they settled for the blood money and the doors were finally opened to Rahim's freedom.
The return was made possible by a massive fundraising campaign of Rs 34 million which was given as blood money by order of a Saudi Arabian court. The court ruled that if the money was not delivered, Rahim would be executed.
The money was delivered in April. The court relented after the Saudi family accepted the money that allowed the judicial process for his release to begin.
Rahim's mother cannot hide her excitement and on Friday she said that she wants to see her son as soon as possible.
“Even if he calls me, that is not enough, I simply cannot wait any longer to see my son and I want him to come as soon as possible,” said Fatima.
Rahim's nephew is also excited and said the Saudi court asked Rahim's lawyer to be present on Sunday.
“The lawyer has told us that on Sunday we will know when Rahim will finally be released. And once released, they will put him on a flight back home, which the whole town is waiting for,” the nephew said.
“After the orders came for his release, every minute seems like hours,” the nephew added.
Rahim, an auto driver here, was attracted to the Gulf to earn more money. He arrived in Saudi Arabia in 2006 and got a job as a personal driver and caregiver for a physically disabled 15-year-old boy, who also had a medical condition whereby he breathed through an external device attached to his body.
The boy, according to Rahim, misbehaved with him one day while he was driving. While he was trying to calm him down, his hand accidentally touched the external medical device which disconnected and the boy died.
A court in Saudi Arabia convicted him of murder and the appeal court upheld this verdict in 2022. The decision was later upheld by the country's Supreme Court.
Then, after numerous arguments with the Saudi family, they settled for the blood money and the doors were finally opened to Rahim's freedom.
