Rising Saudi executions alarm international rights groups
An unprecedented spike in the number of executions carried out in Saudi Arabia has raised alarms among international rights groups, which have described the surge “appalling.”
Amnesty International on Monday harshly criticized the surge in the number of the executions in Saudi Arabia, saying that the kingdom has no intention of revising its brutal way of dealing with offenses.
“This alarming surge in executions surpasses even the country’s own previous dreadful records,” said Saeid Boumedouha, Amnesty International’s regional deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa.
The London-based rights group has repeatedly urged Riyadh to revise its system of handing down capital punishment sentences. The group had previously warned that the number of beheadings in the Arab country is seeing a “macabre spike,” compared to those from previous years.
Earlier on Monday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) also issued a statement condemning the surge, saying that the kingdom should particularly reconsider its approach punishments for non-violent drug offenses.
“Any execution is appalling, but executions for crimes such as drug smuggling that result in no loss of life are particularly egregious,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, the HRW’s Middle East and North Africa director.
At least 90 people have reportedly been executed in Saudi Arabia since the start of 2015, well ahead of the 88 people put to death in the entire 2014.
Saudi authorities execute convicts by sword. Foreign nationals convicted of crimes in Saudi Arabia are not exempt from the brutal Saudi practice, either.
Riyadh claims the executions reveal the kingdom’s commitment to “maintaining security and realizing justice.”
Muslim clerics, however, have slammed Saudi Arabia for executing suspects without giving them a chance to defend themselves.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi rule.
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