Amnesty slams leaked Saudi draft penal code, urges changes

RIYADH (Reuters) – Amnesty International criticised a leaked draft of Saudi Arabia’s first penal code on Tuesday, saying it would codify practices ranging from flogging to gender discrimination and urging changes to align it with international standards.

In a report, Amnesty said the draft penal code “shatters the illusion” that de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman “is pursuing a truly reformist agenda” – a reference to social and economic changes he has introduced to modernise Saudi Arabia, attract investment and open up the country to tourism.

Amnesty said the draft was first leaked in 2022 and that its authenticity had been confirmed by Saudi legal experts.

Amnesty said the Saudi Human Rights Commission had denied the document’s authenticity after it wrote to the commission and the Saudi government to share its analysis. The Commission told Amnesty a draft code was now undergoing legislative review.

The Saudi government media communications office and the Saudi Human Rights Commission did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters about the Amnesty report.

The leaked draft, a copy of which was shared with Reuters by Amnesty, carries no date and runs to 116 pages.

Saudi Arabia’s legal system has historically relied on judges’ interpretation of Islamic law and has not been codified into written law, making rulings dependent on judicial discretion.

In 2021, Crown Prince Mohammed announced judicial reform plans that would eventually lead to an entirely codified law.

“A first written penal code could be a crucial opportunity for Saudi Arabia’s authorities to transform their abusive criminal justice system into one that respects human rights,” said Agnes Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary general.

“However, our analysis of the leaked draft code reveals it is essentially a manifesto for repression that would entrench human rights violations and suppress freedoms.”

Long shaped by the strict Wahhabi school of Islam, Saudi Arabia has undergone changes in recent years, with reforms that have curbed the power of religious police, allowed cinemas and permitted women to drive.

But Riyadh also drew international censure over the killing of journalist Jamal al-Khashoggi in 2018, the jailing of female activists who campaigned for women’s right to drive, and issuing death sentences or decades-long sentences for social media posts.

Crown Prince Mohammed, in an interview with Fox News last September, indicated he wanted legal reform. “Do we have bad laws? Yes. Are we are changing that? Yes,” he said.

In December, Saudi Arabia introduced its first written civil code – a civil transactions law aimed at creating a more stable environment for investors.

Amnesty said the leaked draft criminalised rights to freedom of expression, thought and religion, along with “illegitimate” consensual sexual relations, homosexuality, and abortion, and failed to protect women and girls from gender-based violence.

It also codifies use of the death penalty and continues to permit corporal punishments such as flogging, it said.

With the draft code still under legislative review, Amnesty said, Saudi authorities could still demonstrate “their pledges of reform are more than empty promises”.

Source: Reuters, Staff, March 19, 2024

_____________________________________________________________________

Twitter/X | Facebook | Telegram | Contact Us

SUPPORT DEATH PENALTY NEWS

Buy Me a Coffee!

Taylor Parker becomes 7th woman on death row in Texas

Taylor Parker is set to become the 7th woman on death row in Texas, following her sentencing Wednesday in Bowie County for the capital murder of Reagan Hancock and the kidnapping her unborn baby, Braxlynn Sage. The baby did not survive. The last woman to be handed a death sentence in the state was Kimberly Cargill in June 2012 for the slaying of her developmentally disabled babysitter in Smith County, who was set to testify against her in a custody battle. None of the women currently on death row in Texas are scheduled for execution. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, 6 women have been executed in Texas since the Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976, more than any other state, according to Death Penalty Information Center. The last woman to be executed in the U.S. was Lisa Montgomery in January 2021. It was the first execution of a female inmate carried out by the federal government since 1953, and her case is chillingly reminiscent of Parker’s. She wa...

William Thompson Faces Execution in Florida Amid Dementia, Terminal Illness Concerns

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed an execution warrant for 74-year-old prisoner William “Bill” Thompson less than 24 hours after he was released from the hospital to the hospice wing of the prison. After his attorneys raised serious concerns about his mental competency and deteriorating physical health, Gov. DeSantis agreed to temporarily stay the execution so Mr. Thompson’s competency can be evaluated on October 1. If he is found competent, his execution remains scheduled for October 13.

Texas House chairman wants child rapists eligible for death penalty

AUSTIN (Nexstar) — Under current Supreme Court precedent, states cannot execute someone for raping a child if the victim survives. That’s not stopping State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-McKinney. “We’re going to have a debate in this building behind me about the death penalty being on the table for any Texan who rapes a child,” Leach, the chair of the Texas House Committee on Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence, said. Leach made the comments while hosting a news conference supporting his client, abuse survivor Cindy Clemishire.

Florida | DeSantis sets execution of man who killed Indian River deputy, temporarily pauses another execution

William Reaves is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison on Oct. 20th. It's the 18th death warrant Gov. DeSantis has signed this year. Reaves shot Deputy Sheriff Richard Raczkowski in September 23, 1986. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed his 18th death warrant of the year Friday. William Reaves, convicted of the 1986 killing of an Indian River County Sheriff's deputy, is set to be executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison in Starke on Oct. 20.

Who Should Bear the Burden of Preventing Pain in US Executions?

A physician uses a cartoon lawsuit to question the burdens US execution law places on condemned prisoners. As a physician, I have spent a career on the far side of a fact pattern I did not choose. This is the moment when something prescribed or administered goes wrong inside a body that trusted it not to. I have seen that more than once. It would be more comfortable to cast myself as the one who gets hurt. It is more honest to say I am the supplier. The drug, the dose, the device, and the airway all enter the body through me. In the cartoon, I am not the coyote. I am Acme.

Texas executes Ker’Sean Ramey

Texas executes man for a triple killing, days after other man convicted in case was put to death A man was executed Wednesday evening in Texas for a triple killing committed during an attempted robbery at a rural home, 1 week after the other man convicted in the case was put to death. Ker’Sean Ramey, 41, was pronounced dead at 6:34 p.m. CDT following a lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville. He was the 6th person executed this year in Texas, with 3 more lethal injections scheduled in the state over the next 2 months.

Singapore | Ministry of Home Affairs refutes claims that death penalty was discussed during visit by Israel's security ministry

The Ministry of Home Affairs says discussions with the Israeli government involved the sharing of best practices in emergency response, crime prevention, and forensics. Issues relating to the death penalty “were never part of the meeting and were not discussed." SINGAPORE: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Friday (Sep 11) refuted claims by an Israeli media outlet that the death penalty was discussed during a visit by an Israeli delegation in May. The Haaretz newspaper reported on Sep 7 that a delegation comprising representatives from the Israel Prison Service and National Security Ministry made a “secret visit” to Singapore that month.

Alabama executes Jeffery Lee

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WBMA) — Alabama has executed Jeffery Lee, nearly three decades after he was convicted in the 1998 killings of two people during a pawnshop robbery in rural Dallas County. Lee, 49, was put to death by lethal injection Thursday evening at William C. Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore. His execution came three months after a federal judge blocked Alabama's plans to execute him using nitrogen gas. He was pronounced dead at 6:22 p.m. Central Time, according to the office of Governor Kay Ivey.

Tennessee | Christa Pike Requests Clemency Ahead of September 30 Execution Date; Experts’ Amicus Brief Points to ‘Substantial Risk’ of Re-traumatization

Lawyers for Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, filed a 226-page clemency petition with Governor Bill Lee, asking him to commute her death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole ahead of her September 30 execution date. Ms. Pike’s clemency petition outlines the case her team has built over decades of appeals: her actions at 18 years old cannot be separated from a childhood marked by repeated rape, sexual abuse, and neglect that went unaddressed by the adults and state systems meant to protect her. Once incarcerated, Ms. Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Israel | Ben Gvir discusses death penalty for Neveh Tzuf terrorist hours before Yom Kippur

National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the Neveh Tzuf terrorist during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Two hours before the start of Yom Kippur on Sunday, National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir raised the possibility of applying the death penalty to the terrorist responsible for the attack in Neveh Tzuf during a security meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Netanyahu had reportedly convened the meeting in response to the security situation in the West Bank following the Sunday terror attack.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog