The mother of a British teacher who was murdered in Qatar has spoken of her anguish at the decision to reduce the killer’s death sentence to just 10 years in jail.
Alison Patterson, who travelled to Qatar more than 30 times for court hearings, said she will appeal against Badr Hashim Khamis Abdallah Al Jabr's sentence through the Qatari legal system.
She was expecting the original punishment to be upheld, or in a worst-case scenario for a second retrial to be ordered, and was left in disbelief when the new sentence was read out on Monday. Taking into account time already served in jail for the murder in October 2013, it means Al Jabr could be freed in less than five years.
Al Jabr offered to take Lauren Patterson, 24, home from a night out in Doha. After dropping off her friend, he stabbed her to death before attempting to burn her body on charcoal bricks in the desert. Lauren’s remains were so badly burnt when they were discovered that DNA testing was needed to identify her.
"We really thought it would be the original judgment or retrial," Alison, 53 told The National. "There was nothing in my mind that thought that they would lower the sentence.
“You think of all the different scenarios before, but to go from a death sentence right the way down to 10 years is something we just didn’t imagine would happen.
“It was very, very quick. You hear his name read out, then it was ’10 years’, that’s it. I was absolutely lost for words, it felt it almost wasn’t comprehensible because I just wasn’t expecting that.
“The reaction from the rest of the family has just been shock and disappointment. We felt we were virtually there. I expected to have gone out and the judgment would be upheld. I didn’t expect this, at all.”
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Alison, who recently moved from the UK to Luxembourg, now faces a two week wait for a written judgment, so that she can understand the reasoning behind the reduced sentence. She has 60 days to appeal.
Al Jabr had originally been sentenced to death in 2014. A retrial was ordered and took place last year, but the original sentence, which was to be carried out by firing squad or hanging, was reimposed. Alison’s understanding is that the latest hearing only took place because of a technicality, as Al Jabr claimed not to have received paperwork inviting him to attend the 2017 sentencing hearing.
At last year’s retrial the courts had dismissed all aspects of Al Jabr’s defence, pointing out that his lawyers had at various points claimed he acted in self defence, was mentally incapable at the time of the murder and that Lauren had even committed suicide.
Alison says she will now appeal against the verdict through Qatar’s attorney general, and is being supported by her lawyers in the country and the British Embassy in Doha. Despite her frustration, she emphasised that she would respect the country’s judicial process.
Qatar has not executed a prisoner since 2003, and Alison said she was not confident that the death sentence would be carried out. However, she said the death sentence had reassured her that Al Jabr would spend the rest of his life behind bars, which she would have been satisfied with.
However, she said that a 10 year sentence was completely unacceptable given the nature of her daughter’s horrific killing. Lauren had been teaching at the Newton British School in the Qatari capital before she was killed.
An accomplice of Al Jabr’s, who had helped him to burn her body, was sentenced to only three years behind bars.
“We have spoken to our lawyer and he explained that it [the reduced sentence] can be appealed,” Alison said.
“I could have said ‘no, I accept this’ and walk away, but that wouldn’t ever happen. We’re going to keep at it, definitely. I don’t think 10 years is any kind of conviction for what happened. He’s done five, so he could be out within about four and a half years. That’s not acceptable.
“This was not as if someone had run someone over by accident, it’s a completely different kind of murder. This is someone who’s gone to the nth degree. It’s beyond words what he did.”
A spokeswoman for the UK Foreign Office said: “Our staff in Qatar remain in contact with Lauren Patterson’s family and will continue to support them.”
