Saudi Arabia Urged To Halt Beheadings After Spike In Executions: Amnesty International

CAIRO -- Amnesty International is condemning what it says is a sharp rise in beheadings in Saudi Arabia and is urging authorities in the kingdom to halt executions.

Amnesty said in a Friday statement that the kingdom has executed at least 27 people this year. That's equal to the total number put to death in all of 2010. The rights group says more than 100 others are on death row. Many of them are foreigners.

The group highlighted the case of two brothers sentenced to death in 1998 for murder and at "imminent risk of execution." Amnesty says they had no access to lawyers.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed – usually with a sword.

Comments

[FreeAmerican7]

11:56 AM on 06/16/2011

We will never know which form of execution is the least painful.
Only those who were executed worldwide by different methods
-if they meet in the AFTER-LIFE-
can they discuss and conclude the least painful form of execution (aka Capital Punishment)!

However, ONE important thing to remember is the fact that crimes in Saudi Arabia are so rare and so few and mostly committed by Non-Saudis. While living in Saudi Arabia on 3 different periods for a total of EIGHT YEARS; I felt so safe that I NEVER used credit cards nor carried Checks. It is always CASH including the purchase of a car for about $20,000 going from dealer to dealer until a US Made FORD was found!
In the US one will be stabbed; mugged; killed; etc... for a mere $20 and my car was broken into for less than $3 of change..mostly PENNIES!
In the rare instances when the criminal is caught; our US court systems add pain and suffering to the victim and his/her family and it took more time for the Police to come to file the "report" than the time it took to replace the broken window of the car!!!!!!!!!!!!
What is amazing is the fact that those who live in SAFE GATED Communities are opinionating to other countries how to enforce the laws while in the US crimes are the HIGHEST in the world.

[AbeMartin]

07:40 AM on 06/13/2011

If the United States oil industry wasn't already strolling the dunes of Saudi Arabia hand-in-hand with the au Saud family (remember the iconic photo of George W. Bush doing exactly that?) , the Departments of Defense, Energy and State would have fully developed plans to claim the Saudi's were building weapons of mass destruction and planning yet another invasion of liberation and nation-building that would be financed, like the Iraq mess, with Arabian oil.

[Jack Kalpakian]

06:08 AM on 06/13/2011

The countries to which these foreigners belong should issue a card to every Saudi visitor stating that they will not enjoy the normal civil liberties protections accorded others. Saudi visitors should be told that they will be subject to arbitrary arrest and detention to insure that the country's citizens in Saudi Arabia are not harmed or abused. If Saudis do not accept such provisions, they are welcome to stay in their own country.

[hanoum]

08:54 AM on 06/13/2011

Well, before landing in Saudi, airline passengers are given a declaration card with "Death Penalty for Drug Dealers" printed in red across the top. We looked into Saudi laws before we went there.

[Jack Kalpakian]

09:30 AM on 06/13/2011

Same idea and same logic, and since the KSA does not allow consular access to foreigners accused of crimes, a similar regime should be in place worldwide for KSA travelers. Saudis traveling in or studying in the USA should be treated as well as or as badly as Americans in Saudi Arabia, and this means arbitrary arrest and indefinite detentions, and if they do not like it, they can stay home.

[ResistImperialism]

05:24 AM on 06/13/2011

And why does the US guarantee the safety and security of the Saud family who run and literally own the whole country?

[George Garros]

03:20 AM on 06/13/2011

Another case of zealots misinterpreting the will of God to support the fear agenda...

[pinkibus]

01:26 AM on 06/13/2011

Is Bush over there? He seemed to be fond of executions. They rose astronomically while he was governor of Texas.

[Mr Muckle]

01:07 AM on 06/13/2011

Apparently there are trials, of a sort, in these matters? Oscar Grant, speaking of public executions, had no trial.

[fairwayhill]

11:22 PM on 06/12/2011

Time for Obama to stop supporting th US supported dictatorship of Saudi Arabia. The Saudi people should revolt and overthrow the dictatorship of Saudi Arabia. Wake up Saudi Arabia! It's your turn.

[arabspringlol]

01:09 AM on 06/13/2011

Gee what a great idea..if you want to pay $10 a gallon for gasoline!

[hairydodger]

02:22 AM on 06/13/2011

So you are willing to give some leeway in morals and ethics for some cheap gallons of gas?

[arabspringlol]

01:10 AM on 06/13/2011

Israel is real. Palestine does not exist!

[Talab]

03:40 AM on 06/13/2011

Israel may be real but it is wrong . Why should Palestinians "Recognize Israel's right to exist" when Israel does not recognize their right to exist ? This will one day come back and bite Israel hard as demographics in Israel change

[porsche996]

07:37 PM on 06/12/2011

Let's not be so hypocritical as to insult other cultures.....If Mladic in Serbia had used state of the art aircraft and high tech ordnance instead of a ditch and pistols...­..would GW Bush be in the cell next to him in the Hague?

[prejteach2]

08:42 PM on 06/12/2011

We killed more than that in Texas

[porsche996]

06:54 PM on 06/12/2011

Any of these commenters remember the night of "shock and awe" where we Americans were treated to a lazy boy view of the execution of hundreds of innocent Iraqi civilians without a trial? Live from Baghdad with Wolf Blitzer to do the voice over.

If Mladic in Serbia had used state of the art aircraft and high tech ordnance instead of a ditch and pistols.....would GW Bush be in the cell next to him in the Hague?

[dbrett480]

06:54 PM on 06/12/2011

On the plus side, Saudi Arabia has an excellent recidivism rate.

[John Lamoreaux]

09:13 PM on 06/12/2011

The silly jihad-ninjas. They're just incorrigible.
What a civilized people to do?
Much better just to put them down -- in a humane way,
no chopping heads off or anything.

[Vincent Van Der Hyde]

10:35 PM on 06/12/2011

Ya,
they should at least do it the civilized traditional French method.

[porsche996]

06:48 PM on 06/12/2011

This should be on the COMEDY thread.....hundreds of comments that are frothing at the mouth to condemn a Muslim culture...in denial that the USA has been responsible for the demise of an estimated 500,000 Iraqi's in the last decade.

And they did not get a trial.

[ArthroughpadNY]

07:20 PM on 06/12/2011

We did not kill 500,000 people. Why are you blaming the US when most of the killing was done by the former Baathist thugs that controlled the government. So quick to blame us, yet Saddam had killed thousands of his own people, gassed them and executed them and we got rid of him. No porsche, we were not the problem. I guess it bothers you that we got rid of a criminal thug who invaded Kuwait and threatened our own oil supplies to boot. Blame Saddam and blame his thugs, and of course al qaida.

[porsche996]

07:35 PM on 06/12/2011

Thank you for your fact free response....very light....especially enjoyed the comedy part about Al Que'da in Iraq.

[Edward Standley]

09:31 PM on 06/12/2011

There was no al-Qaida in Iraq until Aug, 2003.

[John Lamoreaux]

09:19 PM on 06/12/2011

500K is a grossly malicious lie.
Such numbers are put forth by the Pasdaran.
No reputable, international body says such a thing.
The US military has rules of engagement,
and they are vigorously enforced.
Ask _any_ combat veteran.
If you know better, I'd advise you to present your data to the Pentagon.
If it has any merit, they will initiate investigations and prosecutions.

[porsche996]

09:37 PM on 06/12/2011

Ahhh, thank you...I knew some rank apologist of unwarranted mass murder would rise to the bait...please sir...straighten me out...just exactly how many innocents have we KIA'd in the name of the great lie?

[Vincent Van Der Hyde]

10:38 PM on 06/12/2011

a. Ya, I remember 'rules of engagement'. In Vietnam they were called 'free fire zones'.
In Iraq they were called, 'if it moves, shoot it'.
b. Rules of engagement don't apply to contract mercenaries.
c. Or to bombs, rockets, or artillery. 'Fire and forget'

[Horst]

06:44 PM on 06/12/2011

I've been to Deera Square, although I was careful to avoid Fridays when the executions take place. The Saudis like to push curious foreigners to the front of the crowds when the beheadings are performed.

[John Lamoreaux]

09:49 PM on 06/12/2011

Was this recent? I'd heard the executions were unscheduled now.

[Horst]

09:59 PM on 06/12/2011

15 years ago. Actually most of the punishments meted out are beatings. Most executions are not scheduled...the victim is drugged and has now forewarning of what will happen. Still, I would avoid the place on Fridays. Actually, I would avoid the country ....

[Sunwyn Ravenwood]

06:24 PM on 06/12/2011

Saudi Arabia is a medieval kingdom with a large supply of oil. Most Arab Muslims are fundamentalist barbarians who treat women as chattels and share a worldview that wants to return to the 7th century. If there was no oil there the entire Middle East would still be part of the Ottoman Empire. The so-called "Arab Spring" isn't a democratic revolution, it is anarchy. Once the secular dictators are gone the various states will become Islamic Republics, like Iran. We have betrayed our allies and are spending immense amounts of money to raise up more enemies against us. Hos much more stupid can we get?

[porsche996]

06:45 PM on 06/12/2011

Oh you aint seen nuttin yet....the children of the corn are about to take over the power spots in DC.

All are punished.

[John Lamoreaux]

09:50 PM on 06/12/2011

Oil's important -- to the entire world.
The alternative is not a Luddite's Paradise.
It's mass starvation -- the culling of humanity will start with the poor,
and it's not the poor in the US or Saudi that'll be first to go.

For all its faults, the Kingdom has done a remarkable job
keeping prices stable -- even when that meant overproducing
their own wells and putting their own economic futures at risk.
Like it our not, they're our allies -- it's a relationship that benefits
both states, and the entire world.
Until Saudi reserves run down,
the Gulf is part of our strategic interests.

[lizr]

11:34 PM on 06/12/2011

Politics of oil makes us lie down with dogs.

not a pretty picture.

there WERE alternatives.

[globalguy]

04:16 PM on 06/12/2011

Our govt. has no balls.

We are quick to criticize China and others over human rights violations but Saudi Arabia is hands off...

I guess oil is the answer

[finlandstation]

05:08 PM on 06/12/2011

well at least that's a good reason.

[John Lamoreaux]

09:24 PM on 06/12/2011

You might be surprised what the US says to its Saudi allies on this topic -- there lots to read, if you are actually interested to know something about it.

[lizr]

11:33 PM on 06/12/2011

Since you are so in the know...:)
why dont you share with us your wisdom?