Reprieve: Executions doubled under King Salman

The human rights organization Reprieve, which opposes the death penalty, in cooperation with the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, announced that execution rates in Saudi Arabia have doubled since King Salman came to power in the year 2015 and appointed his son Muhammad to prominent positions.

The death penalty rate in Saudi Arabia has doubled since Salman came to power in 2015 and appointed his son, Mohammed bin Salman, to prominent positions, according to the text of a report prepared by the “Reprieve” human rights organization against the death penalty, which documented, in cooperation with the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, executions. Saudi Arabia accurately in order to issue a new report.

The report was titled, Saudi Arabia and the death penalty: Everything you need to know about the rise in executions under Mohammed bin Salman.

The results concluded, based on the data collected since 2010 through this organization, that the Saudi government has used the death penalty periodically to silence dissidents and demonstrators, which violates international human rights law, which stipulates that it should be used only in the most serious crimes. About eleven people who were arrested as boys were executed in 2015, despite repeated allegations by Saudi Arabia that it limits the use of the death penalty against minors and the spread of torture in Saudi prisons, even for accused boys.

Last year, Reprieve documented 147 executions in Saudi Arabia, but says the number could have been much higher. It also says the country has used the death penalty "disproportionately" against foreign nationals, including domestic servants and defendants in minor drug cases.

Muhammad bin Salman, who promised after assuming power to modernize the kingdom, and said in an interview in 2018 that his country seeks to “reduce” the use of the death penalty. However, Saudi Arabia is still one of the world’s most executed countries.

Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, said the Saudi crown prince did exactly the opposite of what he promised and oversaw a large number of executions and brutal repression of people who took part in pro-democracy protests.

Ali al-Dubaisi, director of the Berlin-based European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, says the death penalty is part of a Saudi legal system that is "intrinsically unfair".

The latest report issued by Human Rights Watch describes Saudi Arabia's record in the field of human rights as "unfortunate", and a disgrace, and that the kingdom is busy in efforts to distort that record by promoting sports and entertainment activities.