Saudi Arabia executed 81 people on Saturday for “terrorism”, the Interior Ministry announced. The number surpassed the 67 executions reported in the kingdom during the year 2021. In 2020, there were 27.
According to the announcement, the defendants were convicted of links with organizations considered to be terrorists across the country, such as the Islamic State, Al Qaeda and the Houthi of Yemen. Of the 81 executed, 73 were Saudi nationals, seven from Yemen and one from Syria. State agency SPA said they were tried separately by 13 judges in different courts and that those executed were planning attacks on the kingdom, including the killing of “large numbers” of civilians and members of the security forces.
The sentences also include “crimes of kidnapping, torture, rape, smuggling of weapons and bombs,” according to the SPA statement. “The kingdom will continue to take a rigid and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies that threaten stability,” the agency continued.
Saturday’s executions came a day after the release of Saudi blogger and activist Raif Badawi, who had been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes on charges of insulting Islam.
The punishment was lifted following requests from the international community. He received 50 lashes and is banned from leaving the country for the next ten years. His wife, Ensaf Haidar, and their three children are in Canada.
The kingdom, which follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law, is often accused by human rights groups for enforcing laws restricting political and religious expression. The Gulf country denies allegations of abuse and says it protects its national security in accordance with its laws.
The organization Amnesty International (AI) says that the kingdom is among the countries that apply the most capital punishment. In the world report on the death penalty in 2020, AI reported that the nations that most resorted to executions were Iran (246), Egypt (107), Iraq (45) and Saudi Arabia (27).
In 1980, a year after militants took over the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the kingdom executed 63 people in a single day. Recently, the country has frequently repeated that it is at war with “all forms of terrorism”. After attacks in the 2000s, the country managed to contain jihadist groups
Saudi Arabia has suffered a series of attacks since late 2014 claimed by the Islamic State group. In addition, the Gulf country also leads a military coalition that has been fighting in Yemen since 2015 to support the government against the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels.
