At least 800 people
have been executed in the kingdom since Salman ascended the throne in January
23, 2015, following the death of King Abdullah.
Saudi Arabia has
doubled its use of the death penalty since King Salman bin Abdulaziz came to
power five years ago, according to human rights organisation, Reprieve.
At least 800 people
have been executed in the kingdom since Salman ascended the throne in January
23, 2015, following the death of King Abdullah, Daily Mail UK, reports.
The most recent
execution was that of Abdulmohsin Humood Abdullah al-Ghamdi, who was beheaded
on Tuesday for murder, a report by Reprieve said.
From 2009-14, there
were 423 executions in Saudi Arabia – that figure has doubled in just over five
years under King Salman.
In 2019, Saudi
Arabia executed 186 people, 37 of whom were killed in one mass execution on
April 23.
Six of them were men
who were juveniles at the time of their alleged offenses.
Two of those killed
were teenagers Abdulkareem al-Hawaj and Mujtaba al-Sweikat, who were just 16
and 17 at the time of their arrests.
Al-Hawaj was
arrested for attending an anti-government protest when he was 16 and was
convicted of being a 'terrorist'.
Al-Sweikat was also
arrested for attending an anti-government protest and was tortured into
confessing to 'crimes against the state', according to human rights charities.
The report claimed
that al-Sweikat was held in pre-trial detention without charge for three years,
and was subjected to torture by al-Mabahith officers including beatings, foot
whipping, and cigarette burns.
At least 58 of those
killed in 2019 were foreign nationals that were accused of spreading Shia
Islam, which is a crime in Saudi Arabia.
Others were killed
last year for participating in or inciting political demonstrations.
According to
Reprieve, which advocates against the death penalty across the globe, the rise
in executions is partly due to the number of people accused of politically
motivated crimes under King Salman.
13 juvenile
defendants remain on death row in the Kingdom and Ali al-Nimr, Dawood
al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher are at imminent risk of execution, according
to Reprieve.
Director of
Reprieve, Maya Foa, said, “For all the rhetoric of reform and modernisation,
Saudi Arabia is still a country where speaking out against the King can get you
killed.
“In the run-up to
the G20 summit in Riyadh in November, the Kingdom's Western partners must
demand an end to the execution of children and political opponents, otherwise
they risk tacitly endorsing these flagrant violations of international law.”
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