Saudi Arabia executes 3 on day of Boris Johnson's visit amid outrage from rights groups
Three prisoners were executed on Wednesday morning even as the UK prime minister was visiting the kingdom.
Activists have condemned a visit by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to Saudi Arabia following
a mass execution in the kingdom over the weekend and the execution of a further three prisoners on Wednesday, during the prime minister's trip.
Johnson is reportedly visiting the kingdom after travelling to the neighbouring UAE, with the intention of urging the Saudis to begin pumping more oil in order to calm markets shaken by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it had executed a record 81 people in one day for terrorism-related offences, exceeding the total number killed in the whole of 2021.
'The UK should shift from shortsighted policies and instead have human rights at the core of its foreign relations' - Lina al-Hathloul, ALQST
The British premier's decision to visit the kingdom so soon after the mass killing has angered campaigners, particularly as Johnson has cited a desire to wean the UK off Russian gas as a reason for the visit.
3 more people were executed on Wednesday morning during Johnson's visit, according to the Reprieve campaign group.
Lina al-Hathloul, head of monitoring and communications at the ALQST rights group, told Middle East Eye that going from "dependency on one dictator to another" was a poor choice.
“The PM has pledged to raise human rights issues in Saudi Arabia during energy talks today," she said.
"Such promises will only be credible if the most urgent issues are raised, including calling for the unconditional release of prisoners of conscience, an end to the war in Yemen, and a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, not least as Saudi Arabia recently executed 81 people in a single day."
Hathloul, whose sister Loujain is a prominent women's rights activist who was imprisoned for years and subjected to abuse in a Saudi jail, pointed out that Russia’s aggressive policies, leading to war in Ukraine, came about as a result of "the world’s silence over decades".
"The UK should shift from shortsighted policies and instead have human rights at the core of its foreign relations. The alternative risks empowering repressive regimes, leading to perpetual crises," she said.
The war in Yemen, which Saudi Arabia joined in 2015 as the head of a coalition targeting the Houthi rebels, has been branded the world's worst humanitarian disaster by the UN.
Hundreds of thousands have died, including at least 10,200 children, according to Unicef.
Source: Middle East Eye, Staff, March 17, 2022
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