Documenting Human Rights in Saudi Arabia's Bloodiest Year
Saudi Arabia's controversial use of the death penalty, concerns about minors and government opponents
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Human rights monitoring reports indicate that the previous year marked the bloodiest period in Saudi Arabia's history, characterized by a significant rise in executions and a heightened level of repression and tyranny within the nation.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) highlighted that it documented a minimum of 172 executions in Saudi Arabia in 2023. Based on this figure, the European Center for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) noted the ongoing trend and policy of discrimination in the implementation of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
As per this human rights organization, death sentences in Saudi Arabia are predominantly handed down to domestic workers, followed by foreign nationals, and to a significantly lesser degree, individuals involved in drug trafficking. Since 2015, coinciding with Salman bin Abdulaziz assuming the role of king of Saudi Arabia and subsequently appointing his son Mohammed bin Salman as the crown prince, this family has overseen the execution of over 1,257 individuals.
The European Center for Democracy and Human Rights (ECDHR) stresses that the lack of transparency and official statistics makes the reported figure of 1,257 executions in Saudi Arabia not entirely accurate, with the actual number believed to be higher. The organization highlights Saudi Arabia's reluctance to disclose official statistics on annual executions to the United Nations, indicating that the true number of death sentences in the country surpasses the publicly announced figures.
Official statistics reveal a 15% rise in the number of executions in Saudi Arabia compared to 2022. In terms of gender distribution for the executions conducted in 2023, 166 Saudi men and six women were executed.
A concerning aspect of the death penalty implementation in Saudi Arabia is that over 70% of the sentences handed down to defendants were deemed unjustified. For instance, despite abolishing the death penalty for drug trafficking in 2020, Saudi Arabia reinstated it in 2022.
In Saudi Arabia, the death penalty is carried out through three methods: 1) Qisas, 2) tazir, and 3) hadd. Of these, the latter two raise significant concerns and are of particular importance.
The most severe punishment is reserved for specific offenses outlined in Islamic law or crimes deemed as societal transgressions, including government protests.
In Tazir punishment, the judge has the authority to issue the sentence based on their discretion. In Saudi Arabia, the government has granted judges complete autonomy to impose the death penalty, allowing them to do so for various offenses, including minor drug trafficking cases and even minor infractions.
The European Saudi Human Rights Organization (ESOHR) highlights that in Saudi Arabia, the government executes many individuals without informing their relatives about the legal proceedings and processes of the case.
The Saudi government's failure to disclose the true number of death row cases, along with its lack of transparency regarding executions, is seen as a deliberate strategy to portray itself as a modern government supportive of citizens' rights.
King Salman has made commitments to review reforms and enhance governance processes in Saudi Arabia. However, instead of acknowledging his own government's shortcomings and fulfilling his responsibilities, he has shifted blame onto Saudi judges for issuing such sentences.
He has also reiterated claims that Saudi Arabia is a flexible country, despite ongoing concerns about the implementation of the death penalty and lack of transparency in the judicial system.
The use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia is often viewed as a tool employed by the Saudi king to suppress opposition and dissent.
The European Saudi Human Rights Organization has criticized Saudi Arabia for its use of death sentences and raised concerns about the accuracy of reported numbers. Saudi human rights reports indicate that this punishment is still being applied to minors, which is a troubling issue.
International human rights laws prohibit the implementation of the death penalty for children, yet Saudi Arabia not only continues to carry out such sentences but also restricts the disclosure of accurate figures regarding this practice.
In addition to executing sentences without informing families and relatives of the condemned about the judicial process, the Saudi regime has been known to arrest the bodies of those executed, including government opponents, and refuse to release them to their families.
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