Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) executed 81 individuals over terrorism-related charges on March 13, 2022, sparking criticism from human rights activists. Out of 81 men, 73 were Saudi nationals, 7 were Yemenis and 1 was a Syrian national.
37 convicts out of 81 included men found guilty in a single case for attemps to assasinate security officers and target police stations and convoys, Al Jazeera reported.
Flag of Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Photo: AFP
Saudi Press Agency in an official statement said that all the convicts had links to the Islamic State group, Al-Qaeda, Yemen’s Houthi rebels and other terrorist organisations. The Saudi Press Agency in its statement also said that the accused were provided with the right to attorney and were also guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process.
The country comes in the category of nations with high executions rates like China, Iran, Egypt, Iraq and US.
HOW SAUDI ARABIA'S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM OPERATES
Saudi Arabia’s criminal justice system operates on Islamic Shariah Law, reflecting the state sanctioned interpretation of Islam. The Saudi judiciary can impose death penalty as per three categories of criminal offence as per the Sharia law. The three are:
EXECUTIONS IN THE LAST DECADE
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IRAN DISTANCES ITSELF FROM SAUDI ARABIA AFTER 81 EXECUTIONS THIS YEAR
Iran has temporarily suspended direct talks with Saudi Arabia, which was slated to be held on Wednesday, March 16, and was to be hosted by Baghdad. On Sunday, Nour News, affiliated with Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said that Iran has decided to stall Wednesday's talks without giving any reason.
The talks would have been the fifth round of talks in Turkey’s Antalya hosted by Baghdad.
Tehran condemned the mass execution of 81 people, which also included 41 Shia Muslims.