Amnesty International criticizes rising number of executions in Saudi Arabia

Amnesty International has criticized a dramatic rise in the number of executions in Saudi Arabia, saying the Riyadh regime executed 175 people – an average of one person every two days – in less than a year.

On Tuesday, the London-based rights group released a report dubbed “Killing In the Name of Justice: The Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia,” saying 175 executions were carried out in the kingdom between August 2014 and June 2015.

The 43-page report also said 102 people were executed in the first six months of this year, compared to a total of 83 executions in the entire year of 2014.

Amnesty said Saudi authorities have denied its researchers access to the country, and the report relies mostly on accounts gained by contacting people before their execution, their relatives or lawyers, as well as reviewing available court documents.