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Saudi Arabia executes 90th prisoner since start of year

Saudi Arabia has carried out its 90th execution of this year, equaling the total number executed ...
Newstalk
Newstalk

18.36 28 May 2015


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Saudi Arabia executes 90th pri...

Saudi Arabia executes 90th prisoner since start of year

Newstalk
Newstalk

18.36 28 May 2015


Share this article


Saudi Arabia has carried out its 90th execution of this year, equaling the total number executed in the country in 2014.

Amnesty International report that the toll is “one of the highest recorded by the organization during the same period for more than three decades”. The toll so far this year “marks an unprecedented spike in executions for a country already ranked among the most prolific executioners in the world,” a statement from the group said today.

Saudia Arabia is one of the world’s top three executioner nations, behind only Iran and China. The most common method of execution is beheading, often conducted in public squares and occasionally by firing squad.

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“With the year yet to pass its midpoint … this alarming surge in executions surpasses even the country’s own previous dreadful records,” said Said Boumedouha, Deputy Middle East and North Africa Programme Director at Amnesty International.

Today’s execution took place in Riyadh, and was of a Pakistani man convicted on drug-related charges. Drug-related offences are one of the most common reasons for execution, with almost half of all killings this year in some way drug-related. Amnesty International warn that the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences international law.

Many of those sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia are convicted based solely on “confessions”, which are obtained under duress. Many trials are also held in secret, with the accused parties not made aware of the progress of their case.

The Supreme Court has recently decreed that in cases of crimes punishable by death the judge in the trial is free to sentence someone to death without a guilty conviction, but merely with suspicion.

“The Saudi Arabian authorities’ unwavering commitment to this brutal form of punishment is utterly gruesome considering the deep flaws in its justice system,” said Said Boumedouha.

“The use of the death penalty is cruel and inhumane in any circumstance, but it is even more outrageous when meted out as a punishment against someone convicted in a trial that itself makes a mockery of justice.”

Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland said, “The death penalty is never a just response to any crime. It is no particular deterrent. Instead of expediting executions and advertising recently for more executioners as Saudi Arabia did recently, the Saudi authorities should be reversing this very worrying trend.

“Saudi Arabia should establish a moratorium on executions immediately with a view to abolishing the death penalty”.


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