Tuesday 26 January 2016

Saudi Arabia executions reach 53 in January, one-third of 2015 toll

Source: International Business Times (25 January 2016)

http://www.ibtimes.co.in/saudi-arabia-executions-reach-53-january-one-third-2015-toll-664513

Saudi Arabia has continued its spree of executions relentlessly since the beginning of this year, killing 53 people before the first month of 2016 has closed. The figure is more than one-third of the total number of executions of 158 people in the Middle Eastern kingdom last year.

Saudi Arabia sparked global outrage after it put 47 men to death on 2 January, including Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, in what the Human Rights Watch called the "largest mass execution in the country since 1980".

On Monday, Saudi Arabia executed local tribesman Mohammed bin Awadh al-Zahrani in Jeddah for stabbing a man to death, according to the Saudi Press Agency. It was not mentioned how the execution was carried out, but beheading is the common form of carrying out capital punishment in the country.

Monday's action brought the total number of executions in Saudi Arabia this month to 53, AFP reported.

The executions come even after human rights groups have claimed that 2015 was the year with the highest execution rates in Saudi Arabia in two decades.

The execution of al-Nimr earlier this month had sparked dangerous sectarian tensions in the Middle East, with Shia protesters in Iran attacking a Saudi embassy in Tehran. Saudi Arabia called off diplomatic relations with Iran following the incident, and other Gulf nations such as Bahrain followed suit.

Several cases of violence were reported in Shiite-dominated areas of Saudi Arabia following the mass executions.

Saudi Arabia and Iran are yet to restore ties despite calls for it by the international community.

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