RIYADH, Jan 10, 2010 (AFP) - The father of a Canadian man sentenced to death for murder in Saudi Arabia said he was very happy Sunday after the country's supreme court granted his son a reprieve and a review of the case.

"It's so happy, from yesterday until now I haven't slept," said Ali Kohail after the court ruled for a review of the case of Mohammed Kohail, 24.

He said he had few other details about the ruling Saturday in the case.

"They will go to a new court, but when I don't know," he told AFP by telephone.

Mohammed Kohail, a Canadian citizen of Palestinian origin, was arrested in January 2007 and sentenced to death after being convicted of killing a Syrian youth during a vicious schoolyard brawl in Jeddah.

His brother Sultan was sentenced to one year in jail and 200 lashes in the same case because he was a minor at the time of the incident.

The government of Canada, which does not have the death penalty, welcomed the Saudi court's decision.

"Canada is very pleased to confirm that the death sentence against Mohammed Kohail has been revoked and that a retrial has been ordered," Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon said in a statement.

"The government of Canada has repeatedly raised the cases of Sultan and Mohammed Kohail directly with senior Saudi ministers, and this case remains a priority for our government," he added.