2022 Saudi Arabia mass execution
On 12 March 2022, the Kingdom of
The execution was the largest carried out in the kingdom in recent years. There is no mention of how these executions were carried out.[3]
Background
Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Saudi Arabia.[4] Execution is usually carried out by beheading with a sword or occasionally by shooting in public. Despite having signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child,[5] Saudi Arabia executed offenders who were juveniles at the time of the crime up until 26 April 2020.[6] In January 2022, there were at least 43 detainees threatened with execution, including 12 minors.[7]
In recent years, the kingdom has carried out a number of mass executions of civilians convicted for terrorism, most notably a mass execution of 47 convicts in 2016 and another one of similar scale in 2019.[8][9]
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted the extremely broad Saudi definition of terrorism, which generically includes nonviolent persons in opposition to the ruling government in addition to those espousing atheism or any religion other than Wahhabi Islam.[10][1]
Event
On 12 March 2022, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia carried out the execution of 81 men on charges of loyalty to foreign terrorist organizations and holding deviant beliefs, as
These mass executions were carried out as the crown prince of Saudi Arabia,
Reaction
On 23 December 2022, The Daily Telegraph stated in a letter to James Cleverly signed by MPs the party including David Davis (British politician), Hilary Benn, Peter Bottomley, Andy Slaughter and Alistair Carmichael: Saudi Arabia may carry out a mass execution during the Christmas. The kingdom carried out executions during the festive and New Year periods as did it 2016 and 2020 when it is more difficult for the international community to react quickly.[17]
See also
- 2017–19 Saudi Arabian purge
- 2018–2019 Saudi crackdown on feminists
- Awad bin Mohammed Al-Qarni
References
- ^ a b "UN rights chief decries mass execution of 81 people in Saudi Arabia". UN News. United Nations. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
- ^ Yaakoubi, Aziz El (12 March 2022). "Saudi Arabia executes 81 men in one day for terrorism, other offences". Reuters. Retrieved 20 March 2022.
- ^ a b Benmansour, Mohammed (12 March 2022). "Saudi Arabia executes 81 men in 24 hours". The Guardian.
- ^ Vikør, Knut S. (2005). Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law. Oxford University Press. pp. 266–267.
- ^ "IBAHRI welcomes Saudi Arabia's move towards total abolition of the death penalty". International Bar Association. 1 May 2020. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia scraps execution for those who committed crimes as minors: Commission". Reuters. 2020-04-26. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
- ^ "إعدامات السعودية 2021: اضطراب القرار السياسي – المنظمة الأوروبية السعودية لحقوق الإنسان".
- ^ "Saudi Arabia Carries Out Largest Mass Execution Since 1980 – Eurasia Review". Eurasiareview.com. 2016-01-02. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
- ^ Qiblawi, Tamara; Balkiz, Ghazi (2019-04-26). "Exclusive: Saudi Arabia said they confessed. But court filings show some executed men protested their innocence". CNN. Archived from the original on 2019-04-26. Retrieved 2019-04-26.
- ^ "All atheists are terrorists, Saudi Arabia declares". The Independent. 2014-04-01. Retrieved 2018-12-09.
- ^ "Saudi Arabia executes 81 people in a single day". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ "SPA: Saudi Arabia Executes 81 Men for Terrorism, Other Charges". Voice of America. 12 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ a b c d Yee, Vivian. "Saudi Arabia Puts 81 to Death, Despite Promises to Curb Executions". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ Kalin and Said, Stephen and Summer (12 March 2022). "Saudi Arabia Puts 81 People to Death in Its Largest Execution Ever". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ Gambrell, Jon. "Saudi Arabia puts 81 people to death in kingdom's largest mass execution in decades". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2022-03-12.
- ^ Benmansour, Mohammed (3 March 2022). "Saudi court issues new death sentence against man arrested as juvenile". Reuters.
- ^ James, Rothwell (23 December 2022). "Saudi Arabia 'plans to use Christmas as cover for mass executions'". The Telegraph.