Alwaght- Execution rate in the West-backed Saudi Arabia has almost doubled since 2015 when Mohammed bin Salman took power as the crown prince and the de facto ruler of the kingdom.
According to data studied by legal charity Reprieve and the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), from 2015 until 2022, there was an average of 129.5 executions per year, while from 2010-2014 there was an average of 70.8 executions per year carried out in the kingdom, that shows a significant rise of 82 percent in regime's executions.
The organization noted the deep secrecy the kingdom maintained around its judicial process and the use of the death penalty, pointing out that of the 81 men killed in a mass execution on 12 March 2022 - the third such set of killings to take place under Mohammed bin Salman - only 12 death sentences were documented by ESOHR.
"The remaining 69 men were tried, convicted, sentenced, and executed in complete secrecy," they said in a statement, adding that any figures on the number of executions could be a major underestimation.
They said at least 15 child defendants had been executed since 2013; 11 of them were executed after Mohammed bin Salman came to power.
The report also said the country had "disproportionately" used the death penalty against non-Saudis, with almost three-quarters of all women executed from 2010-2021 being foreign nationals - of which at least 56 percent were domestic workers.
Human rights organizations argue that the harsh arbitrary sentences given by the Saudi judiciary to imprisoned dissidents manifest the extent of the kingdom’s disregard for international law, rampant injustice, and violations of human rights and civil liberties.
Ever since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman became Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader, the kingdom has arrested hundreds of activists, bloggers, intellectuals and others for their political activism, showing almost zero tolerance for dissent even in the face of international condemnation of the crackdown.
Muslim scholars have been executed and women’s rights campaigners have been put behind bars and tortured as freedom of expression, association, and belief continue to be denied by the kingdom’s authorities.
Over the past years, Riyadh has also redefined its anti-terrorism laws to target activism.
The report comes as London's High Court was set on Tuesday to examine the legality of the UK government decision's to renew arms sales to Saudi Arabia.
The case was brought by the UK-based organization, Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT). They accuse the government of turning a blind eye to Saudi rights abuses and the impact of the kingdom's brutal aggression against neighboring Yemen, which has caused what the UN has called the world's worst humanitarian disaster.
According to Oxfam, the UK has licensed at least £7.9bn ($9.6bn) in arms to Saudi Arabia across 547 licences since 2015, including Tornado and Typhoon aircraft and bombs.
CAAT says the true value of arms sales could be more than £23bn (around $28bn) when additional "open licensees" are taken into account.
A previous court challenge by CAAT in 2019 forced the UK government to suspend arms sales, but after an internal review, sales resumed in 2021 on the basis that the breaches of humanitarian law were “isolated incidents”.
