Bloodbath: Saudi Arabia Finally Executes 47 People On Death Roll In Just A Single Day

On November 30^th 2015, we reported that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was planning to carry out mass execution of people convicted of terrorism charges in just a single day.

We sourced the story from human rights groups who have been following human rights issues keenly in the ultra-conservative Kingdom where freedom of association, speech, religion, and among others are highly restricted by the ruling dynasty, the House of Saud.

When this news broke out, many human rights groups and international observers urged the Kingdom not to carry out the execution. It was even reported that three juveniles were among those going to die. Among the juveniles is Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr. Ali was arrested by the Saudi authorities at the age of 17 in 2012 for using his blackberry phone to incite an uprising against the Kingdom. The other juveniles are Abdullah al-Zaher and Hussein al-Marhoon.

But despite the concerns and the appeals, we can authoritatively confirm that the Kingdom in defiance has executed 47 people, including a prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr Bakir al-Nimr on Friday 1^st January, 2016. Although the juveniles names were not included in the 47 killed, human rights activists fear they will soon be executed.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency and state television quoted the Kingdom’s Interior Ministry as saying that 47 people have been executed, and that they have been found guilty of involvement in terrorism.

According to the Press TV, Sheikh Nimr was a strong critic of the Saudi regime. He was shot by Saudi police and arrested in 2012 in the oil-rich Qatif region of the Shia-dominated Eastern Province of the country.

He was later charged with instigating unrest and undermining the kingdom’s security, making anti-government speeches and defending political prisoners.  In 2014, he was sentenced to death, provoking widespread global condemnations. He denied the charges and appealed against the sentence. However, the sentence was upheld in March 2015 by the appeal court of Saudi Arabia.

The Iranian government and its religious leaders have condemned the killing of al-Nimr, warning that it will have serious repercussions. Protest is said to have broken out in Bahrain over al-Nimr death. Even in Saudi Arabia, clashes have been reported in the Shia-dominated areas. Activists have called for massive protest across the Gulf Nations. Sympathizers to al-Nimr have predicted that the end of the Saudi regime is near.  Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei tweeted a tribute to al-Nimr on Twitter. And Saudi Arabia is trending on Twitter.

Awakening is not suppressible. 16/5/2015 #SheikhNimr, #NimrAlNimr, #NimrMartyred pic.twitter.com/bVTz61FTDN

— Khamenei.ir (@khamenei_ir) January 2, 2016

Amnesty International has also criticized the trial of Sheikh Nimr, saying the charges are affront to freedom of speech and expression.

Among those executed are alleged al-Qaeda militants who were convicted of attempting to overthrow the Saudi government and carry out attacks using small arms, explosives and surface-to-air missiles.

Some people from a village called Awamiya, located in the Eastern Province of the country were also believed to have been executed. The Awamiya residents are said to have been convicted of sedition, attacks on security personnel and interference in neighboring Bahrain. According to the BBC, since 2011, Awamiya has been the centre of protests by Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority, which has long complained of marginalization at the hands of the Sunni-controlled monarchy. Their trials and sentences are said to be deeply politically motivated by the ethno-religious sentiments between the Shia and the Sunni battle for supremacy in the region.

The Saudi regime has resorted to using death sentence as deterrent to those planning to challenge its authority. Recently, a Palestinian refugee poet who resides in the Kingdom, Ashraf Fayadh was sentenced to death for being an atheist, and renouncing Islam. According to the Guardian, the Kingdom’s religious police first detained Fayadh in August 2013, after receiving a complaint that he was cursing Allah and the prophet Muhammad, insulting Saudi Arabia and distributing a book of his poems that promoted atheism. Fayadh has denied any wrong doing, insisting that he was never given a fair trial.

Saudi Arabia executed 151 people in 2015 alone. Human rights activists say it is the highest recorded figure in the country since 1995. In 2014, the total number of executions carried out was reported to be around 90. The executions were mostly done with the sword.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Director in charge of the Middle East and North Africa, James Lynch had said beheadings are complete affront to the fundamental human rights of those involved, and that it will further dent the image of Saudi Arabia around the world.

“Beheading or otherwise executing dozens of people in a single day would mark a dizzying descent to yet another outrageous low for Saudi Arabia, whose authorities have continued to show stone-faced cynicism and even open defiance when authorities and ordinary people around the world question their sordid record on the use of the death penalty”, he said.

Lynch also revealed that Saudi Arabia is using fear to create an unfair platform in order to execute people it deemed threat to its political power. He was quoted as saying “It is clear that the Saudi Arabian authorities are using the guise of counter-terrorism to settle political scores”.

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