Saudi Arabia directs 81 people in one day for 'terrorist crimes'
The official Saudi news agency said those convicted had links to "the Islamic State, al-Qaeda, the Houthis, and other terrorist organizations."
Arab said on Saturday it executed a record 81 people for terrorist crimes in one day, exceeding the number killed last year and drawing criticism from human rights activists.
All of them "was found guilty of many heinous crimes," the official Saudi News Agency (SPA) said, saying they were inmates with links to the Islamic State group, al-Qaeda, the Houthi rebels in Yemen, or "other terrorist organizations."
The affluent Gulf state has one of the highest execution rates globally and has frequently carried out the death penalty by beheading in the past. The executioners were found guilty of plotting attacks in the kingdom - including killing a "large number" of civilians and members of the security forces, the SPA said in a statement.
"It also includes penalties for attacking government personnel and key business locations, killing and injuring law enforcement officers, and planting antipersonnel mines in police vehicles," SPA said. "Penalties include kidnapping, torture, rape, arms smuggling, and bombing in the kingdom," he added. Of the 81 people killed, 73 were Saudis, seven Yemenis, and one Syrian.
"A firm and firm stance," The SPA said all those executed were tried in Saudi courts, and the trial was overseen by 13 judges, carried out in three separate stages for each person. "The kingdom will continue to take a strong and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies that threaten stability," the agency added.
Saudi Arabia has been the target of a series of deadly shootings and bombings by Islamic State extremists since late 2014. The kingdom also leads a military coalition fighting in Yemen since 2015 against Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have in turn attacked Saudi Arabia. But the execution was denounced by the UK's Suspension of Suspension campaign.
"In Saudi Arabia, there are prisoners of conscience who have been sentenced to death and others who have been arrested as children or charged with non-violent crimes. We fear for each of them following this brutal act of impunity." Saturday's report of 81 deaths equates to more than 69 total executions in 2021.
Saudi Arabia executed 11 people convicted of various crimes in 2022 based on official statements, according to AFP. This brings the total number of executions this year to 92. Around 50 countries around the world continue to use the death penalty.
In 2020, according to Amnesty International, 88% of the 483 reported executions took place in just four countries: Iran with 246, followed by Egypt with 107, Iraq with 45, and finally Saudi Arabia, which executed 27 in the same year.