Saudi Arabia’s execution of 100 foreigners in 2024 branded an ‘unprecedented crisis’

Saudi Arabia has executed much than 100 foreigners this twelvemonth truthful acold – the highest fig ever, according to a quality rights group.

The latest execution, connected Saturday successful the southwestern portion of Najran, was of a Yemeni national convicted of smuggling drugs into the Gulf kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

It brings the fig of foreigners executed successful the mediate eastbound state to 101.

This is astir 3 times the fig past twelvemonth and successful 2022, according to tallies compiled by quality bureau AFP.

Jeed Basyouni, who heads Middle East anti-death punishment advocacy for the NGO Reprieve, said overall, including Saudi nationals successful the figures, the fig of executions successful the state was connected way to transcend 300 for the year.

‘This is an unprecedented execution situation in Saudi Arabia,’ said Ms Basyouni.

‘Families of overseas nationals connected decease enactment are understandably terrified that their loved 1 volition beryllium next.’

Taha al-Hajji,legal manager astatine Berlin-based European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) said: ‘This is the largest fig of executions of foreigners successful 1 year.

‘Saudi Arabia has never executed 100 foreigners successful a year.’

The country has faced ongoing disapproval of its usage of the decease penalty, which quality rights groups accidental is excessive and retired of measurement with efforts to soften its forbidding representation and invited planetary tourists and investors.

The oil-rich nation executed the 3rd highest fig of prisoners successful the satellite aft China and Iran successful 2023, according to Amnesty International.

In September, it was reported that Saudi Arabia had carried retired its highest fig of executions successful much than 3 decades, surpassing its erstwhile highs of 196 successful 2022 and 192 successful 1995.

Executions person continued astatine worrying complaint since and arsenic of Sunday it’s believed 274 radical person been enactment to death.

The nationalities of foreigners executed see 21 from Pakistan, 20 from Yemen, 14 from Syria, 10 from Nigeria, 9 from Egypt, 8 from Jordan and 7 from Ethiopia.

There were besides 3 each from Sudan, India and Afghanistan, and 1 each from Sri Lanka, Eritrea and the Philippines.

In 2022 Saudi Arabia ended a three-year moratorium connected the execution of cause offenders, and executions for drug-related crimes person boosted this year’s numbers.

There person been 92so acold this year, 69 of them of foreigners, according to AFP.

Diplomats and activists accidental that overseas defendants usually look a higher obstruction to just trials, including the close to entree tribunal documents.

Foreigners ‘are the astir susceptible group’, said Mr Hajji of the ESOHR.

Not lone are they often ‘victims of large cause dealers’ but besides ‘subjected to a bid of violations from the infinitesimal of their apprehension until their execution,’ helium said.

Saudi Arabia is known for beheading its superior punishment prisoners, though authoritative statements seldom see the method of execution.

The precocious fig of executions undercuts statements by Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who told The Atlantic successful 2022 that the kingdom had eliminated the decease punishment with the objection of execution cases oregon erstwhile an idiosyncratic posed a menace to galore lives.

The aforesaid year it executed 81 radical successful 1 day for panic offences and different convulsive crimes successful what was the largest wide execution successful the kingdom’s modern history.

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