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AOHR: Saudi Arabia must end executions 

June 26, 2019 at 4:03 pm

Saudi Arabia should abolish the death penalty and be investigated by an international body for the executions it has carried out, said the Arab Organisation for Human Rights in the UK (AOHR). They criticised the international community, including the UK and the US, for being silent in the face of Saudi Arabia’s human rights violations, encouraging them to “continue in their bloody policy of crushing dissidents.”

AOHR stated that 46 people are currently facing imminent execution, including three minors: Ali Al-Nimr, Dawood Al-Marhoun and Abdullah Al-Zaher. They added that those executed were often “subject to enforced disappearance and brutal torture such as electrocution and sexual assault to extract confessions.”

Under the rule of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 709 people have been executed, including seven children, according to AOHR. In April, the second largest mass execution took place in Saudi Arabia, killing 37 people, including three minors.

The Kingdom has the third highest execution rate in the world and has frequently been criticised for executing people who were minors at the time of the crime.

AOHR called on countries all around the world to hold Saudi Arabia accountable for its deadly policies, saying that many more innocent people would lose their lives unless “strict and decisive measures to deter the Saudi regime were taken.”

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