Jump to content

Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
misleading language
Line 7: Line 7:


==Method==
==Method==
Saudi Arabia has a criminal justice system based on [[Shari'ah]]. Execution is usually carried out by beheading with a sword, but may occasionally be performed by shooting or [[Execution by firing squad|firing squad]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-executions/saudis-may-carry-out-executions-by-firing-squad-reports-idUSBRE92A0PK20130311|title=Saudis may carry out executions by firing squad: reports|date=March 11, 2013|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|access-date=October 2, 2020|archive-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007183431/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-executions/saudis-may-carry-out-executions-by-firing-squad-reports-idUSBRE92A0PK20130311|url-status=live}}</ref> Saudi Arabia performs [[public execution]]s. Sentences are primarily given on confession. Human Rights Watch says the majority of people are [[Torture in Saudi Arabia|tortured to obtain confession]] and courts have not investigated it.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} As of April 2020, minors who commit crimes will no longer face execution when they turn 18, and would instead face a maximum of 10 years in juvenile detention facility.<ref name="Reuters"/>
Saudi Arabia has a criminal justice system based on a form of [[Shari'ah]] reflecting a particular state-sanctioned interpretation of Islam.

Execution is usually carried out by beheading with a sword, but may occasionally be performed by shooting or [[Execution by firing squad|firing squad]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-executions/saudis-may-carry-out-executions-by-firing-squad-reports-idUSBRE92A0PK20130311|title=Saudis may carry out executions by firing squad: reports|date=March 11, 2013|newspaper=[[Reuters]]|access-date=October 2, 2020|archive-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007183431/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-saudi-executions/saudis-may-carry-out-executions-by-firing-squad-reports-idUSBRE92A0PK20130311|url-status=live}}</ref> Saudi Arabia performs [[public execution]]s. Sentences are primarily given on confession. Human Rights Watch says the majority of people are [[Torture in Saudi Arabia|tortured to obtain confession]] and courts have not investigated it.{{citation needed|date=March 2022}} As of April 2020, minors who commit crimes will no longer face execution when they turn 18, and would instead face a maximum of 10 years in juvenile detention facility.<ref name="Reuters"/>


A 2018 report by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) asserts that the number of beheadings in the kingdom during the first quarter of 2018 rose by over 70 percent compared to the same period in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ifpnews.com/wired/number-of-beheadings-in-saudi-arabia-rises-by-70/|title=Number of Beheadings in Saudi Arabia Rises by 70%|website=IFPNews.com|date=2018-04-21|access-date=2018-04-23|archive-date=2018-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423170649/http://ifpnews.com/wired/number-of-beheadings-in-saudi-arabia-rises-by-70/|url-status=live}}</ref>
A 2018 report by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) asserts that the number of beheadings in the kingdom during the first quarter of 2018 rose by over 70 percent compared to the same period in 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ifpnews.com/wired/number-of-beheadings-in-saudi-arabia-rises-by-70/|title=Number of Beheadings in Saudi Arabia Rises by 70%|website=IFPNews.com|date=2018-04-21|access-date=2018-04-23|archive-date=2018-04-23|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180423170649/http://ifpnews.com/wired/number-of-beheadings-in-saudi-arabia-rises-by-70/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Revision as of 11:23, 23 September 2024

Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is a legal punishment, with most executions in the country being carried out by decapitation (beheading) – Saudi Arabia being the only country in the world to still use the method.[1] In 2022, recorded executions in Saudi Arabia reached 196, the highest number recorded in the country for any year over the last three decades.[2]

Death sentences are almost exclusively based on the system of judicial sentencing discretion (tazir), following the classical principle of avoiding Sharia-prescribed (hudud) penalties when possible.[3] In recent decades, the government and the courts have increasingly issued these sentences, reacting to a rise in violent crime during the 1970s. This paralleled similar developments in the U.S. and Mainland China in the late 20th century.[3] The performing of executions by decapitation (beheading), in public, led to a central square in the Kingdom's capital, Riyadh, being known in the West as "Chop-Chop Square".

The kingdom executed at least 158 people in 2015,[4] at least 154 in 2016,[5] at least 146 in 2017,[6] 149 in 2018,[7] 184 in 2019,[8] 69 in 2020, and 196 in 2022.[9] The drastic reduction in 2020 was due to a moratorium on death penalties for drug-related offenses[10] as Saudi Arabia proposed ending the death penalty for these and other nonviolent offences.[11][12] Additionally, on 26 April 2020, a royal decree ended the execution of people who were juveniles when they committed their crime.[13][14] (Saudi Arabia had previously executed these people despite having signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child.)[15] Nonetheless, there were 67 executions in 2021, more than doubling the previous year's, according to the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights. In January 2022, at least 43 detainees, including 12 minors, were threatened with execution.[16] On March 12, 2022, Saudi Arabia executed 81 people, seven of whom were Yemenis and one of whom was a Syrian,[17] in the largest known mass execution in the history of the country.[18]

Method

Saudi Arabia has a criminal justice system based on Shari'ah. Execution is usually carried out by beheading with a sword, but may occasionally be performed by shooting or firing squad.[19] Saudi Arabia performs public executions. Sentences are primarily given on confession. Human Rights Watch says the majority of people are tortured to obtain confession and courts have not investigated it.[citation needed] As of April 2020, minors who commit crimes will no longer face execution when they turn 18, and would instead face a maximum of 10 years in juvenile detention facility.[14]

A 2018 report by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) asserts that the number of beheadings in the kingdom during the first quarter of 2018 rose by over 70 percent compared to the same period in 2017.[20]

Public beheadings typically take place around 9 a.m. The convicted person is walked to a courtyard near the courthouse and kneels in front of the executioner. A police official announces the crimes committed by the person and the beheading takes place. The executioner uses a sword known as a sulthan to remove the condemned person's head from his or her body at the neck.[21] After a medical examiner inspects the body and then pronounces the convict dead, a police official announces the crimes committed by the beheaded convict once again and the process is complete. Professional executioners have beheaded as many as 10 people in a single day.[22]

Crucifixion of the beheaded body is sometimes ordered in cases where the person was a child molester or a rapist.[23] For example, in 2009, the Saudi Gazette reported that "an Abha court had sentenced the leader of an armed gang to death and three-day crucifixion (public displaying of the beheaded body) and six other gang members to beheading for their role in jewelry store robberies in Asir."[24]

In 2003, Muhammad Saad al-Beshi, whom the BBC described as "Saudi Arabia's leading executioner", gave a rare interview to Arab News.[25] He described his first execution in 1998: "The criminal was tied and blindfolded. With one stroke of the sword I severed his head. It rolled metres away... People are amazed how fast [the sword] can separate the head from the body."[25] He also said that, before an execution, he visits the victim's family to seek forgiveness for the criminal, which can lead to the criminal's life being spared.[25] Once an execution goes ahead, his only conversation with the prisoner is to tell him or her to recite the Muslim declaration of belief, the Shahada.[25] "When they get to the execution area, their strength drains away. Then I read the execution order, and at a signal I cut the prisoner's head off," he said.[25]

Capital offences

Deera Square, central Riyadh. It is the location of public beheadings.[26]

Saudi law technically allows the death penalty for a variety of crimes:

Murder

Murder is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia. If a murderer pays a family of the victim blood money, and the family approves of the choice, the murderer will not be executed. The criminal justice system waits until the family makes a decision on whether the family of the victim will accept blood money[37] or if the family of the victim will choose to have the murderer executed, or to completely forgive the perpetrator.

Other offences

Sharia background

The Saudi judiciary can impose the death penalty according to three categories of criminal offence in Sharia law:[38]

  • Hudud: Fixed punishments for specific crimes.[38] Hudud crimes which can result in the death penalty include apostasy, adultery, and sodomy although requirement of evidence is high and is usually based on confession.[39] Punishment for adultery is stoning. No stoning has taken place in Saudi Arabia in the last decades.[40][41]
  • Qisas: Eye-for-an-eye retaliatory punishments.[38] Qisas crimes include murder.[38] Families of someone murdered can choose between demanding the death penalty or granting clemency in return for a payment of diyya, or blood money, by the perpetrator.[42] The amount of blood-money requested can be quite considerable: a recent report mentions a sum of $11 million demanded in exchange for clemency.[42]
  • Tazir: A general category, including crimes defined by national regulations, some of which can be punished by death, such as drug trafficking.[38]

A conviction requires proof in one of three ways:[43]

  1. An uncoerced confession.[43]
  2. The testimony of two male witnesses can result in conviction (except in the case of adultery, in which 4 are required). This excludes "hudud crimes", in which case a confession is also required.[43]
  3. An affirmation or denial by oath can be required.[43]

Giving an oath is taken particularly seriously in a religious society such as Saudi Arabia's,[43] and a refusal to take an oath will be taken as an admission of guilt resulting in conviction.[44]

Adultery

In order for an individual to be convicted in a Saudi sharia law court of adultery, he or she must confess to the act four times in front of the court; otherwise four pious male Muslims or two pious men and two women who witnessed the actual sexual penetration must testify in front of the court. If the witnesses were spying on the defendants or intentionally watched the defendants commit adultery, their uprightness would be called into question and a conviction for adultery would not take place.[citation needed] According to the Islamic sharia law, the burden of proof is on the accuser; and if only one of those witnesses retracted his or her testimony then the accused will be acquitted and the remaining witnesses will be prosecuted for perjury Quran 24:4.

The execution method for adultery committed by married men and women is stoning (see Capital offences). If the conviction was established through confession, a retraction of the confession or the defendant leaving the pit while stoning is taking place results in the penalty being stayed. If the conviction was established through the testimony of four witnesses, the witnesses must initiate the stoning, and failure to do so results in the execution being stayed.[45] Sandra Mackey, author of The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom, stated in 1987 that in Saudi Arabia, "unlike the tribal rights of a father to put to death a daughter who has violated her chastity, death sentences under Qur'anic law [for adultery] are extremely rare."[46] Mackey explained that "[c]harges of adultery are never made lightly. Since the penalty is so severe, women are protected from unfounded accusations of sexual misconduct".[46] During a human rights dialogue with European jurists that took place several years before 1987, a Saudi delegate acknowledged that it is difficult to have a person convicted of adultery.[46] According to Mackey, in a 20-year period ending in 1987, one woman "is acknowledged to" have been executed by stoning for adultery.[46]

Princess Misha'al was shot several times in the head for adultery in 1977;[47] investigation revealed she never faced a trial and was executed extrajudicially; scholars have termed her execution as honor killing.[48]

Witchcraft

Muree bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri, who was found in possession of talismans, was executed in the southern Najran province in June 2012. A Saudi woman, Amina bin Salem Nasser,[49] was executed for being convicted of practising sorcery and witchcraft in December 2011 in Al Jawf Region, and a Sudanese man (Abdul Hamid Bin Hussain Bin Moustafa al-Fakki) was executed in a car park in Medina for the same reason on 20 September 2011.[50][51] In 2014, Mohammed bin Bakr al-Alawi was beheaded on 5 August for allegedly practising black magic and sorcery.[52]

Mass executions

2016

On 2 January 2016, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia carried out a mass execution of 47 imprisoned civilians convicted for terrorism in 12 different provinces.[53] Forty-three were beheaded and four were executed by firing squads. Among the 47 people killed was Shia Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.[54] The execution was the largest carried out in the kingdom since 1980.[55] These executions were the first to be carried out in 2016, with rights groups claiming that Saudi Arabia had executed at least 157 people in the year prior. In 2015, it was said that this year holds the greatest number of executions since 1995.[56]

2019

On 23 April 2019, the Saudi Interior Ministry stated that the Kingdom carried out a mass execution of 37 imprisoned civilians[57] who had been convicted, mostly on the basis of confessions obtained under torture or written by the accused's torturers,[58][59] for terrorism-related allegations in 6 provinces in the country.[60][61] Fourteen of the people executed had been convicted in relation to their participation in the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests in Qatif, mostly on the basis of torture-induced confessions.[59][62] The executions were carried out by beheading,[61][63] and two of the bodies were publicly hung from a pole.[64][61] According to Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry the convicts were all Saudi nationals.[citation needed] Thirty two of those executed belonged to the country's Shia minority.[65] One of the thirty-two, Abdul Kareem Al Hawaj, was 16 years old at the time of his alleged crime; executions for crimes committed by those under 18 are violations of international law.[66] According to Reprieve, two others were also under 18 at the time of their alleged crimes, Mujtaba al-Sweikat and Salman Qureish.[67] The bodies of at least 33 out of these 37 people executed were not handed back to their families. The Saudi government did not publicly explain why, and had not handed back the corpses of those executed as of 8 April 2020.[68]

2022

In March 2022, Saudi Arabia executed 81 people, transcending the 67 people executed in 2021. The men executed which included 37 Saudi nationals, some Yemenis and Syrians, were allegedly convicted of several criminal offenses such as the murder of innocent men, women, and children, as per the official statement issued. Rights groups accused the government of imposing restrictive laws against religious expression and political views and criticized its use of the death penalty, including those arrested as minors, and cited the execution as a violation of human rights. However, the government of Saudi Arabia denied the accusations of human rights abuse and claimed that the said laws were imposed to protect its national security.[69]

Criticism

The use of public beheading as the method of capital punishment and the number of executions have attracted strong international criticism.[70] Several executions, particularly of foreign workers, have sparked international outcries.

In June 2011, Ruyati binti Satubi, an Indonesian maid, was beheaded for killing her employer's wife, reportedly after years of abuse.[71][72] Her execution drew extensive criticism from Indonesian press, government and human rights groups.[73]

In September 2011, a Sudanese migrant worker was beheaded for sorcery,[74] an execution which Amnesty International condemned as "appalling".[75] Amnesty International said that Saudi Arabia doesn't have a formal law on Sorcery but some conservative clerics call for strictest punishment possible.

In January 2013, a Sri Lankan maid named Rizana Nafeek was beheaded after she was convicted of murdering a child under her care, an event which she attributed to the infant's choking. The execution drew international condemnation of the government's practices,[76] and led Sri Lanka to recall its ambassador.[77]

These are not isolated cases. According to figures by Amnesty International, in 2010 at least 27 migrant workers were executed and, as of January 2013, more than 45 foreign maids were on death row awaiting execution.[78]

In practice, capital punishment has also been used to sentence political protesters. Ali al-Nimr and Dawoud al-Marhoon were both arrested at the age of 17 in 2012 during Arab Spring protests in the Eastern Province, tortured, forced to confess, and sentenced to decapitation in 2014 and 2015.[79][80][81] Sheikh Nimr al Nimr, an independent sheikh critical of the Saudi government and popular among youth and Ali al Nimr's uncle, was also arrested in 2012 and sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court in 2014 for his role in encouraging political protests.[82] Nimr al Nimr was executed on 2 January 2016, along with 46 other people, mostly terrorists arrested in the 2000s.[83] From the available sources about the Nimr al-Nimr case it seems that Saudi officials use the term "terrorism" as cover label for "thought crimes" which in other countries would be considered normal work of an opposition politician.[84]

On 20 October 2020, Human Rights Watch revealed that Saudi authorities were seeking the death penalty against eight men from Saudi Arabia who were charged with protest-related crimes. Some of the alleged crimes were committed when they were minors, between the ages of 14 and 17. One of them, charged for a non-violent crime, allegedly committed it at the age of 9. All men who were at risk of capital punishment were in pretrial detention for nearly two years.[85]

In March 2021, Human Rights Watch claimed that a Saudi man, Abdullah al-Huwaiti, could face execution for an alleged murder and robbery he committed when he was 14 years old. Disregarding the 2020 ruling abolishing the death penalty for juveniles, al-Huwaiti faces execution following an unfair trial.[86][87]

On 15 June 2021, the Ministry of Interior of Saudi Arabia announced that it executed Mustafa Hashem al-Darwish (26), who was allegedly charged for forming a terror cell and trying to carry out an armed revolt at the age of 17.[88] He was detained since May 2015 for participating in anti-government protests. For years, he was placed in solitary confinement and was brutally beaten several times. During the trial, Al-Darwish told the court that he was tortured to confess the charges against them. Despite all the facts, he was sentenced to death and was ultimately beheaded.[89][90] On 8 June 2021, Amnesty International had urged the Saudi authorities to “immediately halt all plans to execute Mustafa al-Darwish”, stating that the “death penalty is an abhorrent violation of the right to life in all circumstances”.[91]

On 15 December 2013, another Saudi citizen, Aqil Al-Faraj, was arrested due to a discrepancy in the chassis number of the vehicle he was driving. After his arrest, several charges were brought against him, including participation in the formation of a terrorist cell affiliated with a secret armed organization that aims at armed revolt against the ruler, destabilizing internal security, killing security men, concealing arms, and drug dealing. On 1 June 2021, the Court of Appeal ratified the Taazir death sentence issued against him, which means that only the approval of the Supreme Court and the signature of the King before execution remained.[92]

Extrajudicial executions

Saudi Arabia is also responsible for the extrajudicial assassination of Saudi-American journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. He was executed at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul by a squad of Saudi assassins who had been sent to Turkey with the express purpose of entrapping and killing him.[93]

See also

References

Sources

  • Mackey, Sandra. The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom. Updated Edition. Norton Paperback. W.W. Norton and Company, New York. 2002 (first edition: 1987). ISBN 0-393-32417-6 pbk.
  • "Top Arab Spring Cleric Among 47 Executed by Saudi Arabia". NBC News. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 2016-01-02.

Citations

  1. ^ "An execution every two days: Saudi Arabia's surge in killings". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  2. ^ "Death sentences and executions 2022". Amnesty International. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  3. ^ a b Vikør, Knut S. (2005). Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law. Oxford University Press. pp. 266–267.
  4. ^ "Saudi Arabia ends 2015 with one final execution". The Independent. January 2016. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  5. ^ "Death sentences and executions in 2016". amnesty.org. 11 April 2017. Archived from the original on September 9, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  6. ^ "The Death Penalty in 2017: Facts and Figures". Amnesty International. 2018-04-12. Archived from the original on 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  7. ^ "Death Penalty Worldwide". deathpenaltyworldwide.org. Archived from the original on 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Rory (15 April 2020). "Saudi Arabia has carried out 800 executions since 2015, says rights group". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Database". Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide. 24 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  10. ^ "Dramatic drop in Saudi executions after laws changed in 2020". ABC News. Archived from the original on 2021-05-26. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  11. ^ Correspondent, Richard Spencer, Middle East. "Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to end death penalty for drug crimes". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-13. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Fahim, Kareem. "Saudi Arabia, a world leader in executions, weighs ending capital punishment for drug crimes". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 2021-01-14. Retrieved 2021-01-13.
  13. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes 37 people in a single day – including three juveniles". Reprieve. Archived from the original on 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  14. ^ a b "Saudi Arabia scraps execution for those who committed crimes as minors: Commission". Reuters. 2020-04-26. Archived from the original on 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2020-04-26.
  15. ^ "IBAHRI welcomes Saudi Arabia's move towards total abolition of the death penalty". International Bar Association. 1 May 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2020.
  16. ^ "إعدامات السعودية 2021: اضطراب القرار السياسي – المنظمة الأوروبية السعودية لحقوق الإنسان". Archived from the original on 2022-02-18. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
  17. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes 81 men in one day for terrorism, other offences". Reuters. Reuters. Reuters. 12 March 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  18. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes 81 people in a single day". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  19. ^ "Saudis may carry out executions by firing squad: reports". Reuters. March 11, 2013. Archived from the original on October 7, 2020. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  20. ^ "Number of Beheadings in Saudi Arabia Rises by 70%". IFPNews.com. 2018-04-21. Archived from the original on 2018-04-23. Retrieved 2018-04-23.
  21. ^ "Saudi Arabia: An upsurge in public executions". Amnesty International. 30 June 1993. Archived from the original on 2018-11-22. Retrieved 2018-11-21.
  22. ^ "Justice By The Sword: Saudi Arabia's Embrace Of The Death Penalty". Ibtimes.com. 2012-09-11. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  23. ^ a b Miethe, Terance D.; Lu, Hong (2004). Punishment: a comparative historical perspective. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-521-60516-8.
  24. ^ "Death, crucifixion, for jewelry gang". The Saudi Gazette. August 5, 2009. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Saudi executioner tells all". BBC News. 5 June 2003. Archived from the original on 1 April 2009. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  26. ^ "Saudi Justice?". CBS News. 5 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2011. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  27. ^ McKernan, Bethan. "Man 'sentenced to death for atheism' in Saudi Arabia". Independent.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2018-06-24. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  28. ^ Aengus Carroll; Lucas Paoli Itaborahy (May 2015). "State-Sponsored Homophobia: A World Survey of Laws: criminalisation, protection and recognition of same-sex love" (PDF). International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 February 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2016.
  29. ^ a b "The Death Penalty in saudi arabia". Death Penalty Worldwide. Archived from the original on 29 November 2015. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  30. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes top Shia cleric". BBC News. 2016. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2018.
  31. ^ Penalty for adultery:
  32. ^ BBC News, "Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'", 14 February 2008 BBC NEWS Archived 2008-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
  33. ^ Usher, Sebastian (2010-04-01). "Death 'looms for Saudi sorcerer'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2020-04-20. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  34. ^ "Saudi Arabia's 'Anti-Witchcraft Unit' breaks another spell". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  35. ^ Peifer, Elizabeth (2005). "The Deadth Penalty In Traditional Islamic law And As Interpreted In Saudi Arabia And Nigeria". William & Mary Journal of Women and the Law. 11 (3): 509. Archived from the original on 17 February 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  36. ^ Safia Safwat, Offences and Penalties in Islamic Law, 26 ISLAMIC Q., 1982, p.296
  37. ^ Mackey, p. 270.
  38. ^ a b c d e Otto, Jan Michiel (2010). Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present. p. 166. ISBN 978-90-8728-057-4.
  39. ^ Dammer, Harry R.; Albanese, Jay S. (2010). Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-495-80989-0.
  40. ^ "Stoning where is it legal?". 13 September 2021.
  41. ^ Vogel, Frank E. (1999). Islamic law and legal system: studies of Saudi Arabia. p. 246. ISBN 978-90-04-11062-5.
  42. ^ a b "Saudis Face Soaring Blood-Money Sums". The Washington Post. 27 July 2008. Archived from the original on 12 November 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  43. ^ a b c d e Kritzer, Herbert M. (2002). Legal Systems of the World: A Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia. p. 1415. ISBN 978-1-57607-231-8.
  44. ^ Beling, Willard A. (1980). King Faisal and the modernisation of Saudi Arabia. p. 117. ISBN 0-7099-0137-2.
  45. ^ "Punishment for adultery in Islam". islamweb.net. Archived from the original on 2014-12-10. Retrieved 2014-05-26.
  46. ^ a b c d Mackey, p. 271.
  47. ^ "Fate of another royal found guilty of adultery". Independent.co.uk. 20 July 2009. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2017.
  48. ^ "A Talk With Antony Thomas | Death Of A Princess". www.pbs.org. Archived from the original on 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2021-09-22.
  49. ^ "Saudi Arabia execution of 'sorcery' woman condemned". Daily Telegraph. 19 February 2014. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12. Retrieved 13 Dec 2011.
  50. ^ "Saudi man executed for 'witchcraft and sorcery'". 19 June 2012. BBC News. 2012-06-19. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  51. ^ "Execution Central: Saudi Arabia's Bloody Chop-Chop Square". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
  52. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes 19 in one half of August in disturbing surge of beheadings". Archived from the original on 23 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  53. ^ "Saudi Arabia Carries Out Largest Mass Execution Since 1980 – Eurasia Review". Eurasiareview.com. 2 January 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  54. ^ Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Saudi Arabia executes top Shia cleric Archived 2018-05-29 at the Wayback Machine, BBC News (2 January 2016).
  55. ^ "Mass Execution Is Part Of Saudi Arabia's Long History Of Horrors". Huffingtonpost.com. 6 January 2016. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  56. ^ "Saudi Arabia- Death Penalty". Archived from the original on 2022-07-17. Retrieved 2022-10-18.
  57. ^ "Saudi Arabia Has Executed 37 People For Terrorism-Related Crimes". Time. Archived from the original on April 23, 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  58. ^ "Saudi Arabia is carrying out a second oppressive mass slaughter in the era of King Salman, including children, protestors, and activists". European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights. 24 April 2019. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  59. ^ a b Tamara Qiblawi; Ghazi Balkiz (26 April 2019). "Exclusive: Saudi Arabia said they confessed. But court filings show some executed men protested their innocence". CNN. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  60. ^ Ben Hubbard (23 April 2019). "Saudi Arabia Executes 37 in One Day for Terrorism". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 June 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  61. ^ a b c Richard Hall (23 April 2019). "Saudi Arabia carries out 'chilling' mass execution of 37 people for 'terrorism offences'". The Independent. Archived from the original on 19 May 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  62. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Mass Execution of 37 Men — Most from Shia Community, Convicted in Unfair Trials". Human Rights Watch. 24 April 2019. Archived from the original on 24 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  63. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes 37 citizens over alleged terrorism offences". The Guardian. 23 Apr 2019. Archived from the original on 16 June 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  64. ^ "Saudi Arabia's callous disregard for fundamental human rights of its citizens". Daily Times. April 24, 2019. Archived from the original on 3 May 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  65. ^ "Saudi executions: Dozens killed included some arrested as juveniles". Middle East Eye. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  66. ^ "Saudi Arabia: 37 put to death in shocking execution spree". Amnesty International. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  67. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes 37 people in a single day – including three juveniles". Reprieve. Archived from the original on 26 April 2019. Retrieved 28 April 2019.
  68. ^ "Saudi Arabia executed them after questionable trials. Now it won't give up the bodies for proper burial". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 11 April 2020. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  69. ^ Yaakoubi, Aziz El (12 March 2022). "Saudi Arabia executes 81 men in one day for terrorism, other offences". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2022-03-12. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  70. ^ Otto, Jan Michiel (2010). Sharia Incorporated: A Comparative Overview of the Legal Systems of Twelve Muslim Countries in Past and Present. p. 175. ISBN 978-90-8728-057-4.
  71. ^ Sijabat, Ridwan Max (8 July 2012). "Hundreds of Indonesians on death row". The Jakarta Post. Archived from the original on 6 July 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  72. ^ "Indonesia 'feels cheated' by Saudi government". Jakarta Post. 21 June 2011. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  73. ^ "Ruyati beheading is a blow to SBY's claims". Jakarta Post. 20 June 2011. Archived from the original on 2013-01-15. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  74. ^ "Sudanese man executed in Saudi Arabia for 'witchcraft and sorcery'". Sudan Tribune. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  75. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes man convicted of "sorcery"". Amnesty International. 20 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 July 2014. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  76. ^ Chamberlain, Gethin (13 January 2013). "Saudi Arabia's treatment of foreign workers under fire after beheading of Sri Lankan aid". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  77. ^ "The plight of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia". Al Jazeera. 12 January 2013. Archived from the original on 7 November 2018. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  78. ^ "The beheading of a housemaid in Saudi Arabia highlights slave-like conditions". The Independent. 15 January 2013. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  79. ^ Hartley, Eve (2015-09-22). "Ali Mohammed Al-Nimr Sentenced To Crucifixion In Saudi Arabia For Attending Pro-Democracy Protest". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
  80. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Stop execution of Ali al-Nimr". Amnesty International. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
  81. ^ "Second Saudi juvenile to face 'beheading' for protests". Reprieve. 2015-10-06. Archived from the original on 2015-10-09. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
  82. ^ "Saudi Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr 'sentenced to death'". BBC News. 2014-10-15. Archived from the original on 2014-10-15. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
  83. ^ Jamieson, Alastair; Gubash, Charlene (2 January 2016). "Arab Spring Cleric Nimr al-Nimr Among 47 Executed by Saudi Arabia". NBC News. Archived from the original on 2 January 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  84. ^ Ali, Ajaz (3 January 2016). "Saudi: 'Iran is last country to talk about terrorism' - Saudi Gazette". Archived from the original on 22 August 2017. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  85. ^ "Saudi Arabia alleged child offenders face death sentences". Human Rights Watch. 20 October 2020. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  86. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Alleged Child Offender on Death Row". Human Rights Watch. 31 March 2021. Archived from the original on 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  87. ^ "Saudi man arrested as juvenile could face execution despite reforms: Human Rights Watch". Reuters. April 2021. Archived from the original on 1 April 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  88. ^ "Mustafa al-Darwish: Saudi man executed for crimes committed as a minor". BBC News. 2021-06-15. Archived from the original on 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2021-07-13.
  89. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes Mustafa al-Darwish for teenage protests". Reprieve. 15 June 2021. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
  90. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes Mustafa al-Darwish for teenage protests". The Times. Archived from the original on 15 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  91. ^ "Saudi Arabia: Halt imminent execution of young man". Amnesty International. 8 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 June 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  92. ^ "السعودية تهدد بقتل عقيل الفرج تعزيراً – المنظمة الأوروبية السعودية لحقوق الإنسان". Esohr.org. Archived from the original on 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  93. ^ "Opinion | Jamal Khashoggi: What the Arab world needs most is free expression". The Washington Post. 2018-10-17. Archived from the original on 2018-10-20. Retrieved 2022-02-16.

Media related to Death penalty in Saudi Arabia at Wikimedia Commons