UN alarmed at increasing rate of executions in Saudi Arabia

UN alarmed at increasing rate of executions in Saudi Arabia

2012-01-07 23:55:56 GMT+7 (ICT)

GENEVA (BNO NEWS) -- Officials at the United Nations on Friday expressed alarm over Saudi Arabia's increasing use of capital punishment.

According to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the number of executions in the country almost tripled last year compared with 2010. Saudi Arabia applies the death penalty for a wide range of offenses, including witchcraft.

"We call on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to respect international standards guaranteeing due process and the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, to progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and to reduce the number of offenses for which it may be imposed," OHCHR spokesperson Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.

"What is even more worrying is that court proceedings often reportedly fall far short of international fair trial standards, and the use of torture as a means to obtain confessions appears to be rampant," he added.

Six men convicted of charges of highway robbery were recently condemned to "cross amputation", which involves the amputation of the men's right hands and left feet. Colville called on the Saudi authorities to stop the use of such "cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment."

About 140 of the 193 UN Member States are now believed to have either abolished the death penalty or introduced a moratorium. In December 2010, Saudi Arabia was one of a small number of states which voted against a UN General Assembly resolution which called for a worldwide moratorium on executions.

At least 79 people were executed in Saudi Arabia in 2011, a significant increase from the 27 executions reported in 2010. Among those executed was Amina bint Abdul Halim bin Salem Nasser who was beheaded in the northern province of al-Jawf in December.

The Saudi woman had been convicted of 'witchcraft and sorcery.' Details about the case were not released and 'witchcraft and sorcery' are not defined as crimes in Saudi Arabia. However, Amnesty International said the charge of sorcery has previously been used to prosecute people for exercising their right to freedom of speech or religion.

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