UN, Amnesty, HRW regret Saudi's mass execution
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Leading United Nations officials have expressed regret over Saturdays’ mass execution of 47 people by Saudi Arabia and called on the country's authorities to commute all death sentences. Among those executed on Jan. 2 is prominent Shiite opposition figure Sheik Nimr Al-Nimr, whose death has led to the collapse of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia, a Sunni kingdom and Shiite-dominated Iran. "Sheik al-Nimr and a number of the other prisoners executed had been convicted following trials that raised serious concerns over the nature of the charges and the fairness of the process," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson said on Saturday in a statement, also deploring violence by demonstrators against the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Shiite protesters took to the streets from Bahrain to Pakistan while Arab allies of Saudi Arabia quickly lined up behind the kingdom. Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Ira...
Leading United Nations officials have expressed regret over Saturdays’ mass execution of 47 people by Saudi Arabia and called on the country's authorities to commute all death sentences. Among those executed on Jan. 2 is prominent Shiite opposition figure Sheik Nimr Al-Nimr, whose death has led to the collapse of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia, a Sunni kingdom and Shiite-dominated Iran. "Sheik al-Nimr and a number of the other prisoners executed had been convicted following trials that raised serious concerns over the nature of the charges and the fairness of the process," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson said on Saturday in a statement, also deploring violence by demonstrators against the Saudi embassy in Tehran. Shiite protesters took to the streets from Bahrain to Pakistan while Arab allies of Saudi Arabia quickly lined up behind the kingdom. Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Iran over the ransacking of is embassy and consulate.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein also condemned the execution saying it is “a very disturbing development indeed, particularly as some of those sentenced to death were accused of non-violent crimes.” He particularly expressed concer about the recent sharp increase in executions in Saudi Arabia, with at least 157 people put to death in 2015, compared to 90 executed in 2014, and lower numbers in previous years. The execution of 45 Saudis, and Egyptian and a man from Chad was the biggest mass execution for security offences in Saudi Arabia since the 1980 killing of 63 jihadist rebels who seized Mecca's Grand Mosque in 1979.
Leading human rights group Amnesty International has also condemned the execution saying with it Saudi Arabia’s authorities have demonstrated their utter disregard for human rights and life. “It is a bloody day when the Saudi Arabian authorities execute 47 people, some of whom were clearly sentenced to death after grossly unfair trials,” said Philip Luther, Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Programme. “Carrying out a death sentence when there are serious questions about the fairness of the trial is a monstrous and irreversible injustice. The Saudi Arabian authorities must heed the growing chorus of international criticism and put an end to their execution spree,” Luther said, adding, “ Carrying out a death sentence when there are serious questions about the fairness of the trial is a monstrous and irreversible injustice.”
Human Rights Watch also condemned the Saudi executions. It said the kingdom had a shameful start to 2016, executing 47 people in a day, after a year with one of the highest execution rates in its recent history. The death penalty is never the answer to crimes, and executing prisoners en masse further stains Saudi Arabia’s troubling human rights record, the rights group said.
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