Saudi Arabia intends to use Christmas as a cover for mass executions to distract the West during the festivities, according to a warning reached by a British cabinet minister, seen by the newspaper.The telegraph“.
In a letter to the foreign secretary seen by The Telegraph, British MPs said Saudi Arabia would use Christmas as a “cover to commit atrocities”, as was the case in 2016 when around 50 people, including children, were executed towards the end of December.
“We are deeply concerned that Saudi Arabia may carry out a mass execution during the holiday period, when the eyes of the world are elsewhere and the Saudi authorities feel they will face less diplomatic backlash,” the letter to the foreign minister read. Briton James Cleverly.
The letter added: “Saudi Arabia has a history of executions during holidays and New Years, such as in 2016 and 2020, when it was difficult for the international community to respond quickly. We urge you to submit statements in advance of the holidays expressing that this would be totally unacceptable “Before it’s too late”.
Around 60 people are known to be at risk of execution in Saudi Arabia, according to human rights groups, who say the true figure is likely to be much higher.
The letter indicated that “Saudi Arabia has executed at least 20 people in the past two weeks, including 12 foreigners.” “It is no coincidence that Saudi Arabia carried out its recent string of executions as the world watched the World Cup,” MEPs wrote.
The Telegraph reached out to Saudi officials for comment but received no response.
And last November, Saudi executed Saudi nationals for drug offences, bringing the total number of executions to 17 in two weeks.
Saudi Arabia previously promised it would not impose the death penalty for drug offences, but suddenly reneged on its promise and executed seven Saudis and 10 foreigners, bringing the total number of executions this year to 144.
The spate of executions has prompted former British Conservative minister David Davis to write a letter to UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and the Saudi ambassador to the UK asking them to intervene in the case. defendant, Hussein Abu al-Khair, a Jordanian citizen, as reported at the time by the Guardian newspaper.
a spokeswoman said Human Rights Office On 22 November, the United Nations announced that 17 men had been executed in Saudi Arabia since 10 November on drug trafficking and smuggling charges, and described the executions as “extremely unfortunate”.
The spokeswoman, Elisabeth Throssell, told a press conference in Geneva that those executed were from Syria, Pakistan, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. This brings the total number of executions this year to 144, she said.
And Saudi Arabia executed twice as many of those who carried out these sentences last year in 2022, according to a statistic revealed by Agence France-Presse, and points to a sharp increase in this procedure, which is strongly condemned by international organizations for human rights.
