Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in Saudi Arabia. The country performed at least 158 executions in 2015,[1] at least 154 executions in 2016,[2] and at least 146 executions in 2017.[3]

Death sentences in Saudi Arabia are pronounced almost exclusively based on the system of judicial sentencing discretion (tazir) rather than Sharia-prescribed (hudud) punishments, following the classical principle that hudud penalties should be avoided if possible.[4] The rise in death sentences during recent decades resulted from a concerted reaction by the government and the courts to a rise of violent crime in the 1970s and paralleled similar developments in the U.S. and China in late 20th century.[4]

Method

Saudi Arabia has a criminal justice system based on a hardline and literal form of Shari'ah law reflecting a particular state-sanctioned interpretation of Islam.

It is usually carried out publicly by beheading with a sword. A recent report by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) shows that the number of beheadings in the kingdom during the first quarter of 2018 rose by over 70 percent compared to the same period last year.[5] Occasionally they can be performed by shooting.

A public beheading will typically take place around 9am. The convicted person is walked into the square and kneels in front of the executioner. The executioner uses a sword known as a sulthan to remove the condemned person's head from his or her body at the neck.[6] After the convicted person is pronounced dead, a police official announces the crimes committed by the beheaded alleged criminal and the process is complete. The official might announce the same before the actual execution. This is the most common method of execution in Saudi Arabia because it is specifically called for by Sharia law. Professional executioners behead as many as ten people in a single day.[7]

Crucifixion of the beheaded body is sometimes ordered.[8] For example, in 2009, the Saudi Gazette reported that "An Abha court has 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."[9] (This practice resembles gibbeting, in which the entire body is displayed).

In 2003, Muhammad Saad al-Beshi, whom the BBC described as "Saudi Arabia's leading executioner", gave a rare interview to Arab News.[10] 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."[10] 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.[10] 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.[10] "When they get to the execution square, their strength drains away. Then I read the execution order, and at a signal I cut the prisoner's head off," he said.[10]

Capital offences

Deera Square, central Riyadh. Known locally as "Chop-chop square", it is the location of public beheadings.[11]

Saudi law theoretically allows the death penalty for many 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[20] 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:[21]

  • Hudud: Fixed Quranic punishments for specific crimes.[21] Hudud crimes which can result in the death penalty include apostasy, adultery, and sodomy.[22]
  • Qisas: Eye-for-an-eye retaliatory punishments.[21] Qisas crimes include murder.[21] 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.[23] A trend has developed of exorbitant blood-money demands: a recent report mentions a sum of $11 million demanded in exchange for clemency.[23]
  • Tazir: A general category, including crimes defined by national regulations, some of which can be punished by death, such as drug trafficking.[21]

A conviction requires proof in one of three ways:[24]

  1. An uncoerced confession.[24]
  2. The testimony of two male witnesses can result in conviction. This excludes "hudud crimes", in which case a confession is also required.[24]
  3. An affirmation or denial by oath can be required.[24]

Giving an oath is taken particularly seriously in a religious society such as Saudi Arabia's,[24] and a refusal to take an oath will be taken as an admission of guilt resulting in conviction.[25]

Adultery

In order for an individual to be convicted in a Saudi sharia law court of adultery, he/she must confess to the act four times in front of the court; otherwise four pious male Muslims 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[26] According to the Islamic sharia law, the burden of proof is on the accuser; and if only one of those witnesses retracted his/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 for men and women is stoning. If the conviction was established based on 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 based off the testimony of four witnesses, the witnesses must initiate the stoning, and failure to do so results in the execution being stayed.[27] 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."[28] 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".[28] 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.[28] According to Mackey, in a 20-year period ending in 1987, one woman "is acknowledged to" have been executed by stoning for adultery.[28]

Princess Misha'al was shot several times in the head for adultery in 1977.[29]

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,[30] was executed for being convicted of practising sorcery and witchcraft in December 2011 in the northern province of Jawf, and a Sudanese man (Abdul Hamid Bin Hussain Bin Moustafa al-Fakki) was executed in a car park in Medina for the same reason in September 20, 2011.[31][32][33] In 2014, Mohammed bin Bakr al-Alawi was beheaded on 5 August for allegedly practicing black magic sorcery[34]

2016 mass execution

On January 2, 2016, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia carried out a mass execution of 47 imprisoned civilians convicted for terrorism in 12 different provinces in the country.[35] Forty-three were beheaded and four were executed by firing squads. Among the 47 people killed was Shia Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.[36] The execution was the largest carried out in the kingdom since 1980.[37]

Criticism

The use of public beheading as the methods of capital punishment and the number of executions have attracted strong international criticism.[38] 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.[39][40] A video of the execution, posted online, drew extensive criticism.[41]

In September 2011, a Sudanese migrant worker was beheaded for sorcery,[42] an execution which Amnesty International condemned as "appalling".[43]

In January 2013 a Sri Lankan maid named Rizana Nafeek was beheaded after she was convicted of murdering a child under her care, an occurrence which she attributed to the infant choking. The execution drew international condemnation of the government's practises,[44] and led Sri Lanka to recall its ambassador.[45]

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.[46]

In practice, the death penalty has also been used to sentence political protestors. 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.[47][48][49][50] Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, an independent sheikh critical of the Saudi government and popular among youth[51] 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.[52] Nimr al-Nimr was executed on January 2, 2016, along with 46 other people, mostly terrorists arrested in the 2000s.[53] From the available sources about Nimr al-Nimr case it seems that Saudi officials use the term "terrorism" as cover label for "thought crimes" which would be in other countries considered as normal work of opposition politician.[54] In the list of accusations against Nimr al-Nimr there is mention about "taking up arms against the security forces" but the details of what exactly happened are missing. It is not clear if some member of Saudi armed forces was injured or killed by Nimr al-Nimr and what happened before the incident.

Although there is no exact definition of the term "terrorism", the most common meaning is "to use intentionally indiscriminate violence as a means to create terror or fear, in order to achieve a political, religious or ideological aim ... against civilians or non-combatants". Also most terrorist attacks are characterised by long-term planning so clearly there is subtle difference between common crime (even with lethal consequences) and act of terrorism. Based on previous experience with human rights violation in Saudi Arabia there are strong reasons to take the statements of Saudi officials that Nimr al-Nimr is convicted terrorist with suspicion. This is supported by fact that in the list of offenses done by Nimr al-Nimr most of them are purely "thought crimes" like "disobeying the ruler", "inciting sectarian strife" and "encouraging, leading and participating in demonstrations".

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. Retrieved 2016-01-02.

Citations

  1. ↑ "Saudi Arabia ends 2015 with one final execution". The Independent. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Death sentences and executions in 2016". amnesty.org. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  3. ↑ "The Death Penalty in 2017: Facts and Figures". Amnesty International. 2018-04-12. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  4. 1 2 Vikør, Knut S. (2005). Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law. Oxford University Press. pp. 266–267.
  5. ↑ "Number of Beheadings in Saudi Arabia Rises by 70%". IFPNews.com.
  6. ↑ "DOCUMENT - SAUDI ARABIA: AN UPSURGE IN PUBLIC EXECUTIONS".
  7. ↑ "Justice By The Sword: Saudi Arabia's Embrace Of The Death Penalty". Ibtimes.com. 2012-09-11. Retrieved 2014-04-05.
  8. 1 2 Miethe, Terance D.; Lu, Hong (2004). Punishment: a comparative historical perspective. p. 63. ISBN 978-0-521-60516-8.
  9. ↑ "Death, crucifixion, for jewelry gang". The Saudi Gazette. August 5, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Saudi executioner tells all". BBC News. 5 June 2003. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  11. ↑ "Saudi Justice?". CBS News. 5 December 2007. Retrieved 18 July 2011.
  12. ↑ McKernan, Bethan. "Man 'sentenced to death for atheism' in Saudi Arabia". Independent.co.uk.
  13. 1 2 "The Death Penalty in saudi arabia". Death Penalty Worldwide. Retrieved 7 September 2017.
  14. ↑ Federal Research Division (2004). Saudi Arabia A Country Study. p. 304. ISBN 978-1-4191-4621-3.
  15. ↑ BBC News, "Pleas for condemned Saudi 'witch'", 14 February 2008 BBC NEWS
  16. ↑ Usher, Sebastian (2010-04-01). "Death 'looms for Saudi sorcerer'". BBC News.
  17. ↑ "Saudi Arabia's 'Anti-Witchcraft Unit' breaks another spell". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2015-09-14.
  18. ↑ 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. Retrieved 9 November 2015.
  19. ↑ Safia Safwat, Offences and Penalties in Islamic Law, 26 ISLAMIC Q., 1982, p.296
  20. ↑ Mackey, p. 270.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  22. ↑ Dammer,, Harry R.; Albanese, Jay S. (2010). Comparative Criminal Justice Systems. p. 56. ISBN 978-0-495-80989-0.
  23. 1 2 "Saudis Face Soaring Blood-Money Sums". The Washington Post. 27 July 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2011.
  24. 1 2 3 4 5 Kritzer, Herbert M. (2002). Legal Systems of the World: A Political, Social, and Cultural Encyclopedia. p. 1415. ISBN 978-1-57607-231-8.
  25. ↑ Beling, Willard A. (1980). King Faisal and the modernisation of Saudi Arabia. p. 117. ISBN 0-7099-0137-2.
  26. ↑ "Can you provide me with some details concerning the punishment for committing adultery? Is it necessary to have a punishment for the sin to be forgiven? - IslamQA". 28 July 2012.
  27. ↑ "Punishment for adultery in Islam". islamweb.net.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Mackey, p. 271.
  29. ↑ "Fate of another royal found guilty of adultery". 20 July 2009.
  30. ↑ "Saudi Arabia execution of 'sorcery' woman condemned". Daily Telegraph. 19 February 2014. Retrieved 13 Dec 2011.
  31. ↑ Pickup, Oliver. "The moment man was publicly beheaded in a Saudi Arabian car park for being a 'sorcerer'". 31 October 2011. Mail online. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  32. ↑ "Saudi man executed for 'witchcraft and sorcery'". 19 June 2012. BBC News. Retrieved 19 February 2014.
  33. ↑ "Execution Central: Saudi Arabia's Bloody Chop-Chop Square".
  34. ↑ "Saudi Arabia executes 19 in one half of August in disturbing surge of beheadings".
  35. ↑ "Saudi Arabia Carries Out Largest Mass Execution Since 1980 – Eurasia Review". Eurasiareview.com. 2016-01-02. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  36. ↑ Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Saudi Arabia executes top Shia cleric, BBC News (January 2, 2016).
  37. ↑ "Mass Execution Is Part Of Saudi Arabia's Long History Of Horrors". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2016-01-06.
  38. ↑ 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.
  39. ↑ Sijabat, Ridwan Max (8 July 2012). "Hundreds of Indonesians on death row". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  40. ↑ "Indonesia 'feels cheated' by Saudi government". Jakarta Post. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  41. ↑ "Ruyati beheading is a blow to SBY's claims". Jakarta Post. 20 June 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  42. ↑ "Sudanese man executed in Saudi Arabia for 'witchcraft and sorcery'". Sudan Tribune. 24 September 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  43. ↑ "Saudi Arabia executes man convicted of "sorcery"". Amnesty International. 20 September 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2012.
  44. ↑ Chamberlain, Gethin (13 January 2013). "Saudi Arabia's treatment of foreign workers under fire after beheading of Sri Lankan aid". The Guardian. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  45. ↑ "The plight of migrant workers in Saudi Arabia". Al Jazeera. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  46. ↑ "The beheading of a housemaid in Saudi Arabia highlights slave-like conditions". The Independent. 15 January 2013. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  47. ↑ 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.
  48. ↑ "Saudi Arabia: Stop execution of Ali al-Nimr". Amnesty International. 2015. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
  49. ↑ Crowcroft, Orlando (2015-09-27). "Who is Ali Mohammed al-Nimr and why is Saudi Arabia planning to behead and crucify him?". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  50. ↑ "Second Saudi juvenile to face 'beheading' for protests". Reprieve. 2015-10-06. Archived from the original on 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
  51. ↑ Gfoeller, Michael (2008-08-23). "Meeting with controversial Shi'a sheikh Nimr". WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks cable: 08RIYADH1283. Archived from the original on 2012-01-23. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  52. ↑ "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.
  53. ↑ Jamieson, Alastair; Gubash, Charlene (2 January 2016). "Arab Spring Cleric Nimr al-Nimr Among 47 Executed by Saudi Arabia". NBC News. Retrieved 3 January 2016.
  54. ↑ Ali, Ajaz (3 January 2016). "Saudi: 'Iran is last country to talk about terrorism' - Saudi Gazette".

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