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Mass execution in Saudi Arabia as 81 people put to death
By Jon Gambrell
Dubai: Saudi Arabia on Saturday put 81 people to death in the largest mass execution in the kingdom’s modern history.
The number put to death surpassed that of the January 1980 mass execution of those convicted of the seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, which saw 63 people beheaded.
Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.Credit: AP
The mass execution comes at a time of heightened concern over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, but also as the West scrambles to replace its dependence on Russian oil following the invasion of Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in particular was reported on Saturday to be courting the kingdom in a quest for closer trade ties.
Johnson is expected to travel to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in the coming week for meetings with the kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in an effort to broker a new oil deal.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced Saturday’s executions, saying they included those “convicted of various crimes, including the murdering of innocent men, women and children”.
The kingdom said those executed included members of al-Qaeda and Islamic State, as well as backers of Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
“The accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process, which found them guilty of committing multiple heinous crimes that left a large number of civilians and law enforcement officers dead,” the Saudi Press Agency said.
“The kingdom will continue to take a strict and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies that threaten the stability of the entire world.”
The reports have not been independently verified, nor is it possible to ascertain whether any of those found guilty received a fair trial.
The kingdom’s last mass execution came in January 2016, when it executed 47 people, including a prominent opposition Shiite cleric who had rallied demonstrations in the kingdom.
In 2019, Saudi Arabia beheaded 37 Saudi citizens, most of them minority Shiites, in a mass execution across the country for alleged terrorism-related crimes.
Human rights in focus
Saudi Arabia’s opaque judicial processes continue to raise alarm among human rights organisations.
US President Joe Biden’s administration has taken a tough stance over Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, which came under intense scrutiny after the October 2018 murder of prominent Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate.
Bin Salman has been implicated in Khashoggi’s murder.
The United States urged Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to review cases of “prisoners of conscience” and lift travel bans and other restrictions imposed on women’s rights activists previously released from jail.
On Friday, Saudi blogger Raif Badawi was released after 10 years in prison, his wife said.
Badawi, who created and managed an online forum, was arrested in 2012, charged for “insulting Islam” and subsequently sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1000 lashes. He received 50 lashes in 2015.
Ensaf Haidar, the wife of jailed Saudi Arabian blogger Raif Badawi, pictured in 2015 with portrait of her husband.Credit: AP
His public flogging caused an international outcry and prompted strong criticism of Saudi Arabia’s human rights record, including its restrictive laws on political and religious expression.
Badawi wife, Ensaf Haidar, now lives in Canada, where she and their three children were granted political asylum.
Amnesty International and Saudi Arabian human rights group ALQST said Badawi was still subject to a travel ban.
“Raif Badawi is still blocked in Saudi Arabia, as he is banned from leaving the country for the next 10 years,” Amnesty International said in a statement.
“He is also banned from using any social media for the next 10 years, which gravely limits his ability to express himself.”
Badawi set up the Free Saudi Liberals website, which he used to criticise the Saudi clergy and call for changes in the way religion is treated in Saudi Arabia.
AP, Reuters, Bloomberg
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