The Saudi authorities carry out the 1,000th execution during the reign of King Salman
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights revealed that on October 31, the Saudi authorities implemented the 1,000th ruling during the reign of King Salman bin Abdulaziz, which began in January 2015.
The organization said in a statement that the lack of transparency in the Saudi government’s handling of the execution file, intimidation of families and the prevention of any civil society activity prevents access to the numbers of the actual threatened. Therefore, most of the sentences implemented were not monitored in advance by human rights organizations.
The rights group explained that despite this, the details regarding the 1,000 executions show how bloody they were.
Among the executions, 165 were carried out in 3 mass executions, in January 2016, April 2019 and March 2022.
According to the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, out of the total number, 496, or 49%, executions were carried out with injunctive death sentences, with sentences that depend on the opinion of the judge.
The trials in Saudi Arabia confirm the lack of conditions of justice. Many of the convicts were subjected to torture and ill-treatment at different trial stages.
In addition, out of the 1,000 executions, 12 were of minors, most of them carried out after the adoption of the Juvenile Law in August 2018, which prohibits the execution of anyone facing charges or charges that occurred while he was a minor.
In addition to the high number of executions, Saudi Arabia has taken a new approach to detaining the bodies of the executed. The organization’s documentation confirmed that 132 families were deprived of burial rights. Among them are the bodies of minors, which is a constant torture for families.
During the years that witnessed the implementation of the thousand executions, many statements were issued in which Saudi Arabia promised to reduce the number of executions carried out, but the numbers contradicted all those promises.
Among these promises are what Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman made in April 2018 and March 2022 in two media interviews, in addition to a royal order that claimed to stop the death sentences against minors in March 2020.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights confirmed that the 1,000 executions carried out by Saudi Arabia during the seven years of the reign of King Salman bin Abdulaziz show unprecedented bloodshed.
The organization expressed its fears of continuing this bloody path, especially with the organization monitoring at least 53 new death sentences, including eight minors at risk of death.
