Executions in Saudi Arabia nearly doubled during the reign of King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. This is revealed by a report published on Tuesday, January 31, 2023 by human rights NGOs, which details cases of torture and other human rights violations.
Executions have skyrocketed in Saudi Arabia. The average number of executions has fallen from 70.8 executions per year from 2010 to 2014, to 129.5 per year since King Salman took power in 2015, according to a report by the British NGO Resumewhich campaigns for the abolition of the death penalty, andESOHRthe Saudi Organization for Human Rights, based in Europe.
More than 1,000 death row inmates have been executed under the current regime, NGOs said, after verifying official announcements through surveys and interviews with lawyers, families and activists. Saudi Arabia executed 147 people in 2022, according to the report, a figure confirmed by an AFP tally compiled from government announcements.
We studied data from 2010 onwards. The six bloodiest years of executions in Saudi Arabia’s modern history have all been under the leadership of MBS and King Salman (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022). pic.twitter.com/IKM6SDNDGI
— Reprieve (@Reprive) January 31, 2023
In March 2022, Saudi Arabia, which is one of the main countries practicing the death penalty in the world, announced 81 executions in a single dayfor terrorism-related offences.
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An “execution machine”
The country has seen rapid social reforms in recent years, but campaigners blame the crown prince Mohammad Bin Salman to ensure that any criticism against the regime is sanctioned and to supervise repression. “ The Saudi execution machine grinds up children, protesters, vulnerable women in domestic service, unwitting drug mules and people whose only “ crime was to possess banned books or talk to foreign journalists », continues Maya Foa.
Since 2013, at least 15 people have been executed for offenses committed when they were minors. In addition, 31 women were put to death between 2010 and 2021. Among them, 23 were foreign nationals, 13 of whom were domestic workers.
This 58-page report also mentions torture ” systemic and violations of due process, including cases of unfair trials and torture of children and women.
(With AFP)