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| Public execution in KSA |
The conservative kingdom applies a strict interpretation of Shariah and has often faced criticism by Western countries for its frequent use of capital punishment and trials that human rights groups say do not meet international standards. Saudi Arabia has the highest execution rate per capita in the world. The country has put 23 people to death this year compared to 76 in 2012 and 79 the year before. According to Amnesty data, the kingdom executed 423 people from 2007 to 2011.
Many commentators in the country usually avoid talking about death sentences issued by Saudi courts due to the fact that the judiciary, dominated by clerics, is very sensitive to criticism. These clerics say that they are applying God’s laws and consider criticism of their sentences as disrespectful. This sensitivity is heightened when criticism comes from international organizations, long viewed with suspicion by conservatives who accuse these organizations of pushing an agenda of Westernization that aims to alter the nature of society.
This attitude might change. [Talking about the recent execution of seven men] writer Jamal Khashoggi said it is about time that religious scholars and legal experts openly debate such sentences. “Was this the correct sentence?” he asked. “Was the legal procedure thorough?”
A thorough due process in the cases of death sentences is something Saudi Arabia has promised it would do. During its Universal Periodic Review by the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2009, the Saudi government accepted a recommendation to “Protect the rights of those facing the death penalty, including through strengthened application of international safeguards in the use of the death penalty.” Delivering on such a promise is probably challenging for the Saudi legal system which has long been criticized as vague and lacking the safeguards of justice. Citizens often complain that cases take years in courts to be resolved due to the small number of judges.
In October 2007, King Abdullah announced a $2 billion project to reform the judiciary, but the plan has faced resistance by the old guard in the system. In a letter published online in November 2012, a group of conservative judges wrote to the king and Justice Minister Mohammed al-Eisa attacking what they described as the “Westernizing stench” of reform. According to these judges, Sharia courts should remain solely in the hands of religious authorities without any government interference.
Source: al-monitor.com, Ahmed al-Omran, March 20, 2013. Ahmed al-Omran is a Saudi blogger and journalist.
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