Massive execution of dissidents in Saudi Arabia, including crucifixion

RIAD.- The official press agency of

Saudi Arabia

SPA
reported the execution of 37 men, one of them by crucifixion, for crimes related to "terrorism". In a tweet, the agency said the men had been killed for "adopting extremist terrorist ideologies and forming terrorist cells to corrupt and disrupt security, as well as to cause chaos and conflict. sectarians ".

Saudi Arabia has one of the highest death penalty rates in the world. But these 37 executions represent one of the most numerous groups since 2016, year in which a mbadive new execution of 47 people took place. These prisoners were also accused of "terrorism and the maintenance of extremist ideologies".

Since the Crown Prince

Mohammed ben Salman

became Defense Minister in 2015, an offensive against political dissent took place in Saudi Arabia. Salman was elevated to the rank of crown prince in 2017 and began to surround activists, women's rights advocates and religious figures. He even launched an economic modernization program, Vision 2030, which aimed to free his country's economy from oil dependency.

But Mohammed's star finally closed in October of last year after
the disappearance and death of opposition journalist Jamal Kashoggi, columnist of the Washington Post, murdered after entering the Saudi Embbady in Istanbul.

His death sparked a wave of international repudiation and left the Salman dynasty's offensive fully exposed to opposition.

The weekend statement of the SPA uses similar vague language in the condemnation of these prisoners. "Disseminating chaos and provoking sectarian conflict" could contain a large number of definitions in Saudi Arabia, particularly with regard to the Salman regime. The punishments were applied in several places, including Riyadh, Mecca and Medina, the Saudi capital.

One of the prisoners was executed and crucified, according to a state media statement of the country.

Executions are usually performed by decapitation. Crucifixion after execution is reserved for crimes that the authorities consider even more serious and exemplary.

In 2018, a man was executed and crucified after being accused of stabbing a woman to death. He was also charged with attempted murder of another man and attempted rape of a woman, reported Bloomberg.

The Saudi government does not publish official statistics on the number of executions it executes, but the official media often report them.

According to Amnesty International, at least 104 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the year. In 2018, the Gulf State made 149 executions.