UN condemns executions in Saudi Arabia

The United Nations has condemned the executions carried out by the Saudi authorities continuously, calling for an immediate suspension.

A spokeswoman for the UN human rights office said 17 men had been executed in Saudi Arabia since November 10 on drug and smuggling charges, calling the executions “extremely deplorable”.

 Speaking at a press briefing in Geneva, spokeswoman Elisabeth Throssell continued, saying that those executed were from Syria, Pakistan, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number of executions this year to 144.

Saudi Arabia executed in 2022 twice the number of those who carried out these sentences last year, according to a statistic revealed by Agence France-Presse, indicating a sharp increase in this procedure that international human rights organizations strongly condemn.

27 executions were carried out in 2020 during the height of the coronavirus outbreak, and 187 in 2019.