Amnesty deplores Saudi Arabia’s ‘execution spree’

A Saudi Arabian citizen has been executed in Riyadh, bringing to 100 the total number of the people beheaded by the kingdom since the beginning of the year.

A Saudi Arabian citizen has been executed in Riyadh, bringing to 100 the total number of the people beheaded by the kingdom since the beginning of the year.

According to the SPA, the man was executed over the murder of another Saudi citizen on Monday. Amnesty International has slammed what it refers to as Saudi Arabia’s “execution spree.”     

“This sets the country firmly on track to remain one of the most prolific executioners on the planet,” said Amnesty’s Lynn Maalouf.

“If the Saudi authorities are truly intent on making reforms, they must immediately establish an official moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolishing the death penalty completely,” she added.

Saudi Arabia carried out 153 executions across the kingdom last year. In the most stunning case of executions in 2016, Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr on January 2 along with 46 other people in defiance of international calls for the release of the prominent Shia cleric and other jailed political dissidents in the kingdom.