Saudi Arabia hanged 81 persons over the past 24 hours, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian national, on crimes including terrorism and harbouring “deviant ideas”, state news agency SPA reported on Saturday.
The amount exceeded the 67 executions announced in the kingdom in all of 2021 and the 27 in 2020.
“These criminals were convicted of many crimes, including murdering innocent men, women and children,” SPA stated, citing a statement from the interior ministry.
“Crimes committed by these people also include declaring allegiance to international terrorist groups, such as ISIS (Islamic State), al-Qaeda and the Houthis,” it added.
Some were headed to crisis zones to join “terrorist outfits, “, SPA stated.
The individuals included 37 Saudi citizens who were found guilty in a single instance for attempting to murder security personnel and targeting police stations and convoys; the newspaper stated.
Saudi Arabia’s human rights records have been under increasing scrutiny from human rights organisations and Western partners after the assassination of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018.
It has faced heavy criticism of its Draconian rules on political and religious speech, and the application of the death sentence, especially for individuals detained while they were juveniles.
Saudi Arabia dismisses claims of human rights violations and says it maintains its national security according to its laws.
SPA stated the accused were granted the right to an attorney and were assured their full rights under Saudi law during the court procedure.
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