Story highlights Karl Andree's son says "he's an old man," may not survive 360 lashings

Andree has already been imprisoned over a year because of homemade wine

Britain's prime minister is writing Saudi authorities about the case, his office says

(CNN) The crime is related to homemade wine. But can 74-year-old Karl Andree survive the punishment -- 360 lashes by Saudi authorities?

His son fears that he won't, conceding that while Andree may have done wrong in the eyes of Saudi officials, it shouldn't warrant what may amount to a death sentence.

"I completely understand that he has committed a crime and, for that, you have to face consequences ... He understands as well," Simon Andree told CNN. "But ... on the basis of his ill health, (I hope) he can get clemency and get released, because I feel he won't survive those lashes."

Alcohol -- like narcotics, weapons, pork and pornography -- are prohibited in Saudi Arabia, in line with the Middle Eastern nation's strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. And it's what got Karl Andree in trouble, for transporting homemade wine in his car.

The British grandfather has since spent more than a year in custody.

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