Saudi Arabia Executed 184 People In 2019: 1 Was Crucified, The Others Were Beheaded

Despite coming under intense scrutiny in recent years over its human rights record, Saudi Arabia still carried out its highest number of executions in 2019. A new report has revealed that the kingdom executed 184 people last year, including three teenagers and 90 foreign nationals.

There has been an astounding rise in executions in Saudi Arabia since 2015. After seeing the execution of 88 people in 2014, the country doubled its executions to 157 just a year later. The figure has been in the upswing since then, despite Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman’s pledge in 2018 to curb the use of death penalty to special cases such as murder.

The judicial process in Saudi Arabia has been under fire since the international spotlight focused on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in which five individuals were immediately sentenced to death without undergoing fair trial. On April 23 last year, Saudi Arabia broke international laws yet again when it executed 37 people in a single day, including underage prospective college students who were arrested for simply taking part in pro-democracy demonstrations.

“According to official Saudi figures, 37 people were executed for ‘terrorism’ offenses in 2019, but a closer look at the charges—‘disobedience against the King,’ ‘preparing banners with anti-state slogans,’ ‘incitement via social media’—reveals who these so-called ‘terrorists’ really are,” said campaign group Reprieve director Maya Foa.

Foa went on to condemn Mohammed Bin Salman, saying that the latest execution figures only expose the gap between the reformist rhetoric and bloody reality of Saudi Arabia. “As the Crown Prince travels the world meeting heads of state, his regime has been executing young men arrested as children for the ‘crime’ of standing up for democracy,” she said.

In light of the human rights abuses in the country, Foa called on the U.K. and the U.S. governments to call out the executions in Saudi Arabia “in the strongest possible terms,” saying international pressure can possibly make a difference. Last year, Saudi Arabian prosecutors were on the verge of sentencing 13-year-old Murtaja Qureiris to death for participating in pro-democracy protests but they backpedaled following a global outcry.