- By Mukul Sharma
- Sat, 12 Mar 2022 10:04 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Riyadh | Jagran World Desk: In one of the biggest mass execution in decades, Saudi Arabia executed 81 men on Saturday, including eight foreigners – one Syrian and Yemeni citizens – for charges that include terrorism and holding “deviant beliefs”.
In the entire years of 2020 and 2021 respectively, a total of 67 and 81 executions were reported from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
"These individuals, totalling 81, were convicted of various crimes including murdering innocent men, women and children," the interior ministry was quoted as saying by Reuters in a statement.
"Crimes committed by these individuals also include pledging allegiance to foreign terrorist organisations, such as ISIS (Islamic State), al-Qaeda and the Houthis," it added.
Some travelled to conflict zones to join "terrorist organisations", the statement said.
The ministry did not say how the executions were carried out.
The men included 37 Saudi nationals who were found guilty in a single case for attempting to assassinate security officers and targeting police stations and convoys, the ministry added.
The kingdom had earlier executed 63 people in one day in 1980, a year after terrorists seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca, according to state media reports.
A total of 47 people, including prominent Shiaite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr, were executed in one day in 2016. Rights groups have accused Saudi Arabia of enforcing restrictive laws on political and religious expression, and criticised it for using the death penalty, including for defendants arrested when they were minors.
Saudi Arabia denies accusations of human rights abuses and says it protects its national security according to its laws.
SPA said the accused were provided with the right to an Advocate and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process.
