FEATURED POST

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.

Strong evidence Saudi authorities will go ahead with mass execution, says rights group

Published
Ali Mohammed al-Nimr
Ali Mohammed al-Nimr
There is growing evidence that Saudi Arabia will go ahead with the mass execution of more than 50 people convicted of terrorism, a human rights group has claimed.

Okaz newspaper reported that the country is poised to execute 55 people for "terrorist crimes" that killed more than 100 civilians and 71 security personnel.

The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), which has been monitoring the publication of news reports in the media, believes that the Saudi government may be "testing the waters" ahead of the execution of activists convicted of anti-government offences. If the public reaction is not deemed strong enough, the Gulf kingdom could go ahead with the punishments.

Last week, 3 news reports of a mass execution were published in online publications described by ESOHR as "pro-government", including Okaz, Al-Riyadh and Al-Jazeera, quoting unofficial sources. 2 of the articles were subsequently deleted. Additionally, unofficial Twitter accounts, which are known to to be sources close to the government and give accurate news, also spread news about executions, but did not give the identities of the accused.

"When those accounts come out and they announce events, people take it seriously. We think those media put the articles up to evaluate the international community's reaction," Zena Esia, a research associate for the ESOHR, told IBTimes UK.

Esia explained how ESOHR witnessed similar behaviour with Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr, a prominent human rights defender, who was believed to be in line for execution along with his nephew, Ali Mohammed Al-Nimr. In July, there was a strong reaction from the public, which protested after the Twitter accounts announced Nimr would be executed.

"If the international community is quiet, it would not be in the favour of these young men and Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr." - Zena Esia, research associate, European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights

Sheikh Nimr was arrested in 2012 after supporting protests that were by then raging in Qatif and al-Awamiyah and was shot in the leg by police. His arrest and later conviction on a range of charges - including "encouraging foreign meddling" in the kingdom and insulting its rulers - caused days of rioting during which 3 protesters were killed.

"In the past, articles went up announcing the government's intentions to execute Sheikh Nimr, to test the water. On the day the protests were planned, a news article came up saying the execution would not take place," Esia said.

"We see this as a deliberate media strategy, which can be very psychological because Ali Mohammed al-Nimr's mother has seen a lot of these unofficial statements, and it is very disturbing for her. If the international community is quiet, it would not be in the favour of these young men and Sheikh Nimr Al-Nimr."

Legal charity Reprieve, which has followed the case of the pro-democracy young man and his uncle, said this week that a number of those who will reportedly be executed come from the same region as the activists convicted of anti-government offences. The men were also taken for an announced medical examination in prison, which suggests their execution has been scheduled.

Under Saudi Arabia's draconian legal system, the two are to be beheaded and their bodies crucified in public. The case has triggered uproar worldwide, with Amnesty International describing the trial as unfair and deeply flawed.

Saudi Arabia has already executed more than 150 people this year, mostly by public beheading, the most in 20 years, rights group Amnesty International said this month.

Source: ibtimes.co.uk, November 30, 2015

- Report an error, an omission: deathpenaltynews@gmail.com - Follow us on Facebook and Twitter
Location: Saudi Arabia
Related content:

Most Viewed (Last 7 Days)

Communist Vietnam's secret death penalty conveyor belt: How country trails only China and Iran for 'astonishing' number of executions

Published
Image
Prisoners are dragged from their cells at 4am without warning to be given a lethal injection Vietnam's use of the death penalty has been thrust into the spotlight after a real estate tycoon was on Thursday sentenced to be executed in one of the biggest corruption cases in the country's history. Truong My Lan, a businesswoman who chaired a sprawling company that developed luxury apartments, hotels, offices and shopping malls, was arrested in 2022.
Read more

Japan | Death-row inmates' lawsuit targeting same-day notifications of executions dismissed

Published
Image
The Osaka District Court on Monday dismissed a lawsuit by death row inmates that claimed same-day notifications of executions violate the Constitution — the first ruling of its kind. The plaintiffs filed the lawsuit against the government in hopes of sparking a wider discussion on the rights of death row prisoners. They also sought ¥22 million in compensation and plan to appeal to a higher court.
Read more

Texas | State district judge recommends overturning Melissa Lucio’s death sentence

Published
Image
In a rare joint statement, the district attorney and the defense agreed that prosecutors withheld evidence that could point to a Rio Grande Valley woman’s innocence in the death of her toddler. A district judge who previously presided over a woman’s capital murder case recommended last week that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals overturn Melissa Lucio's 2008 conviction after a district attorney’s office admitted that prosecutors withheld evidence from her defense.
Read more

Iran | Probable Child Offender and Child Bride, Husband Executed for Drug Charges

Published
Image
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO); April 15 2024: Marjan Hajizadeh and Esmail Hassaniani, a couple sentenced to death for drug-related charges in a joint case, were executed in Zanjan Central Prison.  Marjan is reported to have been 16 at the time of arrest, which IHRNGO is working to confirm. If verified, she will be the first child offender executed for drug charges since 2014. She was also a child bride forced into marriage.
Read more

U.S. Supreme Court to hear Arizona death penalty case that could redefine historic precedent

Published
Image
The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments centering on an Arizona death row prisoner that could set new precedent to determining ineffective assistance of counsel.  A Mohave County Superior Court jury convicted Danny Lee Jones for the 1992 murders of Robert Weaver and his daughter Tisha, as well as the attempted murder of Weaver’s grandmother. A judge sentenced Jones to death for the two murders.
Read more

Bill Moves Forward to Prevent Use of Nitrogen Gas Asphyxiation in Louisiana Executions

Published
Image
There’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430. When Louisiana legislators approved the use of nitrogen gas asphyxiation as an execution method during a second special legislative session in February, the move attracted national attention; not the least because it has only been used in the U.S. once. That’s when Alabama executed convicted killer Kenneth Eugene Smith on January 25th of this year. Now there’s an effort underway, in the current legislative session in Baton Rouge, to reverse course on the controversial execution method with Senate Bill 430.
Read more

Iraq postpones vote on bill including death penalty for same-sex acts

Published
Image
BAGHDAD, April 15 (Reuters) - Iraqi lawmakers postponed voting on Monday on a bill that includes the death penalty or life in prison for same-sex relations - a measure that diplomats from Western countries said could have serious consequences for Iraq's political and economic ties if it goes through. Parliament was in session on Monday, with the bill - an amendment to an anti-prostitution law - second on its agenda.
Read more

Alabama lawmakers reject bill which would allow some death row inmates to be resentenced

Published
Image
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WAFF) - An Alabama House committee rejected a bill that would have impacted sentences for dozens of death row inmates. The proposal would have required courts to resentence people sentenced to death by a judge who overrode a jury’s recommendation of life in prison. That practice was outlawed in 2017. Representative Chris England passionately argued it should be retroactively applied for more than 30 death row inmates who were sentenced to death over a jury’s recommendation.
Read more