Correspondents for the Globe and Mail in Jeddah and Ottawa said Saudi courts have been unwavering in the prosecution of Mohamed Kohail, 23, for the schoolyard beating death of a 19-year-old Syrian last year.

The report said the country's Supreme Court was expected to sign off on the death warrant within days, and that had Canadian consular officials scrambling.

Kohail and his 17-year-old co-accused brother, Sultan, have denied involvement in the incident, but the victim's family has been outspoken in the call for the death penalty, the report said.

Minwer al-Haraki, the victim's uncle and a businessman with ties to the royal family, told the Globe he would respect only one of two outcomes.

"They cannot just push us to forgive without counting the crime that has been committed. Execution is the only justice," he said. "The king is the majesty of us all. If he says drop everything we will."