Saudi Arabia kills 81 men for terrorism, others
Saudi Arabia at the weekend killed 81 men, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian.
They were convicted on charges bordering on terrorism and holding “deviant beliefs”, according to state news agency SPA.
The authorities say the accused were provided with lawyers and guaranteed their full rights during the judicial process.
The convicts engaged in various crimes including murdering innocent men, women and children, an Interior Ministry statement read.
“Crimes committed by these individuals also include pledging allegiance to foreign terrorist organizations, such as ISIS (Islamic State), al-Qaida and the Houthis”, it added.
Among them were 37 Saudi nationals found guilty of attempting to assassinate security officers, targeting police stations and convoys.
Saudi’s human rights records and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi are routinely condemned. The United States indicted the crown prince.
Also criticized are restrictive laws on politics, religion and death penalty implementation which affects defendants arrested when they were minors.
But the country denies accusations of rights abuses and maintains that punitive measures are in line with laws and meant to protect national security.
The latest capital punishment surpassed the 67 executions reported in the kingdom in all of 2021 and the 27 in 2020.
Saudi under the leadership of King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is co-led by his son Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).
The Arab nation insists it is intolerant of terrorist activities and corruption, increasing its crackdown in recent years.
