 |
| Public execution in Saudi Arabia |
At least 151 people have been put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year - the highest recorded figure since 1995 - in an unprecedented wave of executions marking a grim new milestone in the Saudi Arabian authorities' use of the death penalty, said Amnesty International.
So far in 2015, on average, one person has been executed every other day. Annual execution tolls for Saudi Arabia in recent years have rarely exceeded 90 for the entire year. The latest execution took place on 9 November.
"The Saudi Arabian authorities appear intent on continuing a bloody execution spree which has seen at least 151 people put to death so far this year - an average of 1 person every 2 days," said James Lynch, Deputy Director at Amnesty International's Middle East and North Africa Programme.
According to Amnesty International's records, the last time Saudi Arabia executed more than 150 people in a single year was in 1995, when 192 executions were recorded. In 2014 the total number of executions carried out was 90 - meaning that so far there has been a 68% increase in executions over the whole of last year.
Death sentences in Saudi Arabia are frequently imposed for non-lethal offences, such as drug-related ones, and after unfair trials which lack basic safeguards for fair trial provided for under international human rights law and standards. This was documented in Amnesty International's August 2015 report Killing in the Name of Justice: The death penalty in Saudi Arabia .
Almost 1/2 of the 151 executions carried out this year were for offences that do not meet the threshold of "most serious crimes" for which the death penalty can be imposed under international human rights law. This blatantly contradicts the Saudi Arabian authorities' claims to apply the death penalty with the strictest safeguards in place. Under international human rights standards "most serious crimes" are crimes that involve intentional killing.
Of the 63 people executed this year for drug-related charges, the vast majority, 45 people, were foreign nationals. The total number of foreign nationals executed so far this year is 71. The death penalty is disproportionately used against foreigners in Saudi Arabia. Foreign nationals, mostly migrant workers from developing countries, are particularly vulnerable as they typically lack knowledge of Arabic and are denied adequate translation during their trials.
"The use of the death penalty is abhorrent in any circumstance but it is especially alarming that the Saudi Arabian authorities continue to use it in violation of international human rights law and standards, on such a wide scale, and after trials which are grossly unfair and sometimes politically motivated," said James Lynch.
Concerns over the increase in executions have been further compounded by the apparent use of the death penalty as a political tool to clamp down on Saudi Arabian Shi'a Muslim dissidents.
Last month the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, a prominent Shi'a Muslim cleric from the Kingdom's Eastern Province, after a politicized and grossly unfair trial at Saudi Arabia's notorious counter-terror court (the Specialized Criminal Court).
This followed news that Sheikh al-Nimr's nephew Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr, and 2 other young Shi'a activists, Dawood Hussein al-Marhoon and Abdullah Hasan al-Zaher, who were arrested as juveniles after participating in anti-government rallies, also had their death sentences upheld. All 3 have said they were tortured and denied access to a lawyer during their trials. The 3 young men have recently been transferred to solitary confinement heightening fears that their executions could be imminent.
Saudi Arabia also continues to impose death sentences on and execute people below 18 years of age, in violation of the country's obligations under international customary law and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
"Using the death penalty against juvenile offenders is an egregious violation of international human rights law. The use of the threat of executions as a tool to punish and intimidate political dissidents by the Saudi Arabian authorities is an appalling abuse of power," said James Lynch.
"Instead of intimidating people with the threat of state sanctioned killing, the Saudi Arabian authorities should halt all impending executions and urgently establish a moratorium on executions as well as overhaul the Kingdom's deeply flawed justice system."
Source: Amnesty International, November 9, 2015
Saudi Arabia executions doubled last year
Saudi Arabia’s government doubled its use of executions last year, according to reports, with many prisoners killed despite having been convicted of non-violent crimes.
Separate studies by the European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) and Amnesty International have found that 2015 saw the Saudi authorities carry out at least 151 executions. Of those, the majority appear to have been convicted for non-violent crimes, including drug offences. The surge indicates that the country is executing at least one prisoner every two days.
Last month, research by international human rights group Reprieve found that, of those identified as awaiting execution in Saudi Arabia, some 72% were convicted for non-violent offences - including attendance at political protests. Among those facing execution for protesting are two juveniles, Ali Mohammed al-Nimr and Dawoud al-Marhoon. Both are understood to be being held in solitary confinement in Riyadh.
The two juveniles were both convicted on the basis of ‘confessions’ they signed following torture, at secretive trials in which their lawyers were largely blocked from representing them. Reprieve’s research has found that the use of torture to extract ‘confessions’ is widespread in Saudi, with some prisoners on death row having been beaten to the point of suffering broken bones and teeth.
Commenting, Maya Foa, director of the death penalty team at Reprieve, said: “This dramatic spike in executions should be cause for strong condemnation from the Saudis’ closest allies, like the UK and the US. Not only are we seeing an escalation in the number of prisoners executed in Saudi Arabia, the large majority of them are being sentenced to death for non-violent offences and the ‘crime’ of attending protests. Some, like Ali al-Nimr and Dawoud al-Marhoon, were just children when they were arrested and sentenced to death. The international community and Saudi Arabia’s closest allies must call for an end to the tide of senseless killing.”
Source: Reprieve, November 10, 2015
Related content:
- Execution caught on video in Saudi Arabia, Emirates 24/7, June 3, 2012
- Saudis behead, crucify Sudanese man for robbery, rape and murder, Apr 21, 2012
- Saudi Arabia executes Burmese woman; secret filming reveals medieval, barbaric punishment, January 12, 2015
