http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/saudia-arabia-beheadings-one-chart-that-reveals-the-disturbing-rise-in-executions-this-year-10232782.html
"The executed men were identified as Khaled Fetini and Ibrahim
Nasserm, from Yemen, Hassan Omar, from Chad, Salem Idriss from Eritrea
and Abdel Wahhab Abdel Maeen from Sudan"
Saudia Arabia beheadings: One chart that reveals the disturbing rise
in executions this year
HEATHER SAUL
Thursday 07 May 2015
Human rights campaigners condemned Saudi Arabia for publicly beheading
five migrants on Monday, as the Kingdom continues to carry out
executions at the highest rate seen in recent years.
The executed men were identified as Khaled Fetini and Ibrahim Nasserm,
from Yemen, Hassan Omar, from Chad, Salem Idriss from Eritrea and
Abdel Wahhab Abdel Maeen from Sudan.
Their deaths were confirmed by the Saudi Interior Minister in a
statement released by the Saudi Press Agency on Monday, who said the
group were convicted of killing an Indian guard and stealing money.
They were executed just a month after Amnesty International condemned
the “macabre spike” in state-sanctioned killings.
Adam Coogle, a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch, said 153
executions were carried out in the Kingdom within the last nine
months, usually for drug crimes or murder.
“Amnesty is absolutely correct in describing the spike as ‘macabre’,”
he told The Independent. “Yesterday, Saudi carried out its 80th
execution in 2015 by my count.
“From January to the end of July 2014 there were 15 executions, but
they finished the year 2014 with 88, which shows clearly that the
spike began last year and has continued."
Executions carried out in Saudi Arabia in 2014 and 2015
Executions in 2015
80
Executions in 2014
88
The Kingdom has nearly carried out the same number of executions as 2014 to date
Source: Adam Coogle HRW Get the data
The figures show executions are being carried out at the highest rate
in recent years, but the reason for this is unclear. There has been
some speculation that it may be a reflection on the change of
leadership, after King Salman succeeded his late brother King Abdullah
in January.
But Mr Coogle said the rapid increase preceded King Salman’s accession
in Saudi Arabia.
“Personally, I would hesitate to relate the spike to the change of
leadership,” he said. “He certainly hasn’t done anything to stop it
but the high rate really began last August. It could be an issue with
a backlog of prisoners or it could just be that they are sentencing
more people to death. The dearth of information coming from Saudi
Arabia means it’s very difficult to know."
The number of migrants killed made up almost half of those executed by
the Saudi Government last year and this year, figures Mr Coogle
described as "really disproportionate".
"There are many issues for non-Saudis in terms of their treatment via
the criminal justice system, such as translation problems and the fact
that they don’t have powerful, tribal alliances that can affect the
outcome of the case," he said.
“I would see the increase in executions in a regional context;
Pakistan and Jordan brought back the death penalty last year and
governments are trying to deter crime and show they can preserve the
stability of society. There seems to be this unfortunate drift towards
the death penalty."
However, Mr Coogle said reports claiming the bodies had been suspended
from helicopters were unlikely. “In general those convicted under this
category of Islamic law would be subject to beheading and then public
display of decapitated bodies, but corpses dangled from helicopters
sounds pretty outlandish to me.”
"The major point is that although executions are not prohibited under
international human rights law, they are strongly discouraged and they
should be reserved only for the most serious crimes. Non-violent
crimes should not be considered a capital crime.”
Amnesty 's UK’s head of policy and government affairs Allan Hogarth
accused the Saudi government of indulging in a "judicial killing
spree", describing the number of executions being carried out as
"frightening".
“There were some tentative hopes of human rights reform when King
Salman came to the throne earlier this year, but these have now been
completely crushed," he said.
Received on Sun May 10 2015 - 13:56:54 EDT