Saudi Arabia executed 81 people last weekend, with reports of international charitable warnings that many of them were facing torture and secret trials at the hands of the regime.
It is estimated that half of those killed came from the Shia minority region of the country, which has seen frequent anti-regime protests since the Arab Spring in 2011.
The mass executions came before Boris Johnson went to Saudi Arabia to hold oil negotiations with the country.
It has sparked criticism of the Prime Minister’s willingness to align Britain with countries that have cruel human rights records – here’s all you need to know.
How many people are being executed by the Saudi regime?
Amnesty International reports that the latest massacre will bring the number of executions in Saudi Arabia to 92 by 2022 alone.
Saudi Arabia has carried out two mass executions in recent years, but neither were on the same scale as the recent killings.
In 2019, 37 people were executed from the hands of the regime, with the majority of those killing Shia men.
In 2016, 47 other people were killed in a mass execution that saw the death of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
Referring to the recent killings, Ali Adubusi, director of the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), said: “This horrific massacre took place a few days after Mohammed bin Salman declared that the executions were limited.
“It is the third such massacre in the seven years of the reign of King Salamn and his son.”
How do Saudi Arabia’s death penalty laws work?
Saudi Arabia’s current legal system is based on strict Sharia law, which follows an extreme interpretation of the Qur’an.
Execution is typically carried out by beheading with a sword, but is sometimes carried out by firing squad in a public execution.
In early 2021, Saudi authorities unveiled amendments to the death penalty laws in the country, ending the death penalty for people under 18 years of age.
They have also announced that they will impose a temporary ban on executions related to drug crimes.
More from World
While this moratorium appears to have been enforced in the country, it has not yet been formalized in the courts and inmates who have previously been convicted of drug-related crimes remain on death row.
In addition, Amnesty International said: “Courts have further transferred and executed persons for other crimes, where judges can impose the death penalty at their discretion.”
The charity added: “The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, and a violation of the right to life.
“Amnesty International calls on the Saudi authorities to stop the executions immediately, to establish an official moratorium on all executions and to initiate legislation that completely abolishes the death penalty for all crimes.”
On Monday, Downing Street said the government would “raise” the mass execution of Saudi Arabia by 81 men with the regime.
Why is Boris Johnson in Saudi Arabia?
Mr Johnson’s visit aims to persuade golf leaders to boost oil production and bring down prices, which rise after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
This would allow Western nations to deplete themselves of Russian fossil fuels and issue another financial blow to Moscow.
Speaking about the transmitter at the Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, Mr Johnson said: “If we look at the dependence that the West has built on Putin’s hydrocarbons in particular, on Putin’s oil and gas, we can see what a mistake that was because he was able to blackmail the west and hold western economies for ransom – we need independence.
He said a global coalition was needed “to deal with the new reality we are facing”.
No. 10 said discussions were on “efforts to improve energy security and reduce volatility in energy and food prices”, including the potential for increased oil supply from the country to the UK.
The Prime Minister has called on the West to reduce its dependence on Russian fuel in recent weeks, and is set to launch a new energy strategy for Britain in the coming weeks.
Add Comment