Saudi prince in court over London murder

Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir Bin Abdulaziz al Saud, 33, is accused of killing Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz, 32, on Monday.

LONDON, February 19, 2010 (AFP) - A Saudi prince appeared in court Friday charged with murdering a compatriot, said to be an aide, who was found strangled in a top London hotel this week.

Saud Bin Abdulaziz Bin Nasir Bin Abdulaziz al Saud, 33, is accused of killing Bandar Abdullah Abdulaziz, 32, on Monday at the Landmark Hotel in the Marylebone district, police said.

The shaven-headed minor royal, wearing a white police-issue T-shirt, spoke only to confirm his details during a five-minute hearing, helped by an Arabic interpreter.

Media reports have suggested the deceased was an aide to the prince. But Al Saud's lawyer Michael Wolkind, referring to his client as "the prince", rejected this.

"We look forward to a trial where we will expose a prosecution case, which has turned a genuine friendship with the deceased to a false relationship of master and servant," he said.

"The prosecution has turned a genuine tragedy into a wrongful accusation of murder," he added.

Officers were called to the hotel after the victim was found dead in a third-floor room. A post-mortem examination found that he had been strangled and suffered head injuries.

Police said the accused also faces a second charge of causing grievous bodily harm to the victim, relating to an incident several weeks earlier.

Judge Timothy Workman remanded Al Saud in custody to appear at London's Old Bailey on May 28. A bail hearing will be heard on Monday or Tuesday next week.

Rooms at the Landmark, built in 1899, cost from 400 pounds (460 euros, 630 dollars) a night. Guests have included Liam Gallagher, former singer with the British rock band Oasis, who held his wedding reception there.