Saudi Arabia has abolished the death penalty for crimes committed by minors, a Saudi official said on Sunday, April 26, a few days after the announcement of the abolition of the flogging. The ultra-conservative kingdom is regularly accused of human rights violations by international non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
The death penalty has been lifted for those convicted of crimes committed when they were minors, said the head of the Human Rights Commission, a government agency, Awad Al-Awad, in a statement, citing a royal decree. A prison sentence not exceeding ten years in a juvenile detention center will replace the death penalty, he said.
The decree is expected to spare at least six men from the Shiite Muslim community, a minority in the Sunni kingdom, who had been sentenced to death for participating in anti-government protests when they were under the age of 18.
“This is an important day for Saudi Arabia”said Mr. Awad. “This decree helps us to establish a more modern penal code. “
184 people killed last year according to Amnesty
In a report on the death penalty around the world, released this week, Amnesty International claimed that “Saudi Arabia executed a record number of people in 2019, despite a general drop in executions worldwide”.
“Saudi authorities killed 184 people last year, the highest number Amnesty has ever recorded in a single year in the country”, she said.
Homicide, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking, armed robbery, witchcraft, adultery, sodomy, homosexuality and apostasy are punishable by death in the kingdom , which follows a rigorous version of Islam. The Human Rights Commission announced on Friday that the Supreme Court has ruled “To eliminate flogging as a potential punishment”.
An image of a tarnished reformer
Since Mohammed Ben Salman became crown prince in 2017, Saudi Arabia is particularly singled out by human rights organizations.
The economic and social openness promoted by Prince Mohammed has been accompanied by increased repression against discordant voices, both within the royal family and among intellectuals and activists.
His image as a reformer was greatly tarnished by the murder of the Saudi journalist and power critic, Jamal Khashoggi, murdered at his country’s consulate in Istanbul in 2018. A crime that caused international outcry.
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