Harriet McCulloch, Reprieve’s deputy director, noted that as global attention focuses on crises elsewhere in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is intensifying its use of the death penalty. McCulloch stated that, “As the world’s attention fixates on horror elsewhere in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is clearing death row with a bloodbath.”  As reported the Middle East Eye.

The rapid increase in executions reflects a troubling trend

As per the Middle East Eye report, McCulloch states that the Kingdom smashed its own grim record for most people executed in a year in the first nine months of 2024. She added that “With 213 executions and counting, death row prisoners are at greater risk than ever before, their families desperately awaiting news of their fate in the news.”

Link:

Saudi Arabia is in the midst of an execution crisis.

At least 213 people have been executed in 2024 so far.

This makes 2024 a record-breaking execution year for the Kingdom.

4/5

— Reprieve (@Reprieve) October 9, 2024

The rise in executions is occurring under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has held the titles of Prime Minister and de facto leader of the kingdom. Despite his 2018 vow to reduce capital punishment, the kingdom remains one of the most prolific executioners globally. Since Mohammed bin Salman assumed power on June 21, 2017, at least 1,115 executions have been documented.

A joint report released in 2023 by the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) and Reprieve found that the execution rate in Saudi Arabia has nearly doubled since King Salman and his son took the reins in 2015. Between 2015 and 2022, the number of executions surged by 82%.

Reprieve has also accused Saudi Arabia of misleading the UN about its use of the death penalty. During a recent meeting with the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, Saudi officials claimed that the death penalty is only applied in the most serious cases and that laws protect minors from capital punishment. This statement contradicts the kingdom’s history of executing individuals for crimes allegedly committed as minors.

For example, three clients of Reprieve and ESOHR—Abdullah al-Derazi, Youssef al-Manasif, and Abdullah al-Howaiti—were convicted based on confessions obtained under torture for crimes committed before they turned 18. The Saudi Human Rights Commission also inaccurately reported that Mustafa al-Darwish, sentenced to death for protest-related offenses, was over 19 at the time of his alleged crimes. However, evidence provided by Reprieve and ESOHR proved he was under 18. Darwish was executed on June 15, 2021, despite the evidence.

Saudi Arabia fails to win seat at top UN Human Rights Body

On October 9, 2024, Saudi Arabia has failed to win a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) after a vote for membership in the 2025-27 term. This is the second time in a row for the Persian Gulf kingdom to lose the elections.

According to the Middle East Eye, HRC voted on October 9, 2024 to elect 18 new members from 19 candidates running on five separate regional slates. The Asia-Pacific slate had six candidates competing for five seats. Saudi Arabia came in sixth with 117 votes, behind the Marshall Islands (124), the Republic of Korea (161), Cyprus (167), Qatar (167) and Thailand (177).

In Wednesday’s election, it received 117 votes, the least among six Asia-Pacific countries competing for five seats on a regional slate.  Saudi Arabia was one of 19 candidates who were in the race of membership for HRC body. McCulloch was also urged UN member states to reject Saudi Arabia’s bid, stating, “Today, UN member states should vote no—no to Saudi Arabia securing a seat on the council, and no to rising executions carried out with impunity.”

However, earlier Human rights activists strongly urged that Saudi Arabia’s push for a seat on the HRC contradicts the council’s mission. Members are expected to uphold high standards of human rights and fully cooperate with the council. UN Watch, a group that monitors the UN’s adherence to its own principles, has called for changes to the HRC’s election process, which currently allows countries with poor human rights records to become members.

Rights groups have welcomed the news, stating that it underscores Riyadh’s failure to make meaningful progress in improving its human rights record.

Crackdown on Dissent and Notable Cases

Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty extends beyond ordinary crimes to encompass political repression. In 2017, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrested around 70 members of the political elite, including members of the royal family, as part of his strategy to consolidate power. High-profile incidents, such as the 2018 assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, have sparked worldwide outrage. While Prince Mohammed has denied any personal involvement in Khashoggi’s murder, a U.S. investigation has implicated him in the assassination.

Related:

Saudi Funding of Intolerance: The Other Face of the Indian Sufi’s Angst

Saudi Arabia: A Dark Stain on Islam

How Saudi Wahhabism spread hatred of non-Muslims in Egypt

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The reforms have to do with a certain loosening of cultural norms within the absurdly conservative nation defined by a peculiar interpretation of Islam called Wahhabism. As the first visible marker of conservatism has to do with women, the relaxation of that conservatism and the inauguration of so called liberalism also start with women’s question. Thus almost all the reformist measures announced by MBS has directly or indirectly to do with women. Allowing cinema was the first move by MBS but then there is very little that we know till now about the status of this creative enterprise in the kingdom. Does the reform only confine itself to screening Hollywood mindless movies which can safely be consumed by the pampered Saudis or does the reform also entail that average Saudis will be able to make and produce their own movies? Since cinema and other cultural art forms are deeply political by nature, does it also mean that a cinematic critique of Saudi establishment will be tolerated by the Prince and that the creative exercise will not be subject to severe censure or even threats to life and liberty? So far we have not heard about the nature of cinema which is being screened in Saudi Arabia. If the idea is that it is just for mind-numbing consumption, then we are not talking about real reforms at all.

Similarly, the kingdom announcement with great fanfare the organization of a fashion show- a first in Saudi Arabia. What actually happened was not just the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia but possibly the entire world: robots were paraded down the aisle instead of real models in this so called fashion show. A very warped understanding of honour and sexuality saw to it that women and creative directors were not allowed to do what comes naturally to them by being situated in the fashion industry. While the world laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea of robots walking down the ramp, some became suspicious, and rightly so, of the real intentions of MBS.

This trust deficit which the Prince has earned can be better understood through the lifting of the ban on women’s driving. Saudi Arabia again became a spectacle of sorts when women (in 2018!) where ‘allowed’ to drive legally on the streets. There were scenes of jubilation with women and their families posting images of driving, something very routine in other parts of the world. But one might stop and ask: how real is this change? True, it will bring some relief to women who can now go to work without the aid of a driver. But then, the Saudi system of male guardianship would still require that women are still subject to the rule of men. From opening bank accounts to getting passports and travelling to another country, Saudi women still have to seek the consent of a male guardian. This in itself is extremely humiliating and actually debars women in in this country from exercising their human rights. It is ridiculous that in this day and age, women have to seek permission from their husbands, fathers or even their sons for mundane things. What makes the situation ludicrous is that women outnumber men (although they constitute only 15% of the organised labour force) when it comes to accessing higher education in Saudi Arabia. And yet despite being more educated, she is considered the property of men and kept under their suzerainty.

Those who are celebrating the ‘permission’ granted to women to drive on their own must understand that this is just that: permission. In other words, it got effected through the ‘will’ of the King and must be understood in its proper context as a ‘gift’ from the monarchy. And herein lies the problem with those who are equating this reform with liberalism and democracy. The essence of democracy is the belief that all citizens have certain inalienable rights. Freedom of movement, criticism and free expression is fundamental part of democracy and liberalism. So while we are celebrating that women have been allowed to drive, let us not forget that this was a demand which women activists made decades ago. When we mention the supposed liberalism of the MBS, let us not forget that there are women still behind bars for making those demands. That MBS decided not to free them despite international pressure only tells us that despite the media hype around him, he remains a despot and a dictator.

Despots demand obedience, they cannot face criticism. Any critique of the system is understood as a personal criticism and those who are resisting this unjust regime have to face the music. Thus the women who are now behind bars are there for committing a crime which they in part helped to dismantle. In any other part of the world, they would be released and celebrated. Not so in Saudi Arabia. For anything and everything here must flow from the crown itself. If anyone wants to call it a step towards democracy and liberalism, then they would need to redefine these words first. But then this is also despotism of all special variety. Saudi Arabian despotism is wedded to Wahhabism and together they make a potent mix. Any critique of the system invites lashes and imprisonment as the case of Raif Badawi tells us. Those who are critical of the religion and want it to adapt to modernity also face persecution. A regime which treats Shia Islam as heretical cannot be expected to tolerate any criticism of Islam itself.

MBS curiously and infamously blamed the Iranians for the conservatism of his own country. This is complete nonsense. If he is really serious about bringing reforms, then it must start with a deep introspection rather than blaming someone else. And one of the first questions that he needs to ask is how the pernicious ideology of Wahhabism has very nearly destroyed the soul of his country. From the looks of it, one can only say that he is not ready to question anything related to the Wahhabi superstructure. Till the time that happens, MBS and his reforms should only be understood as a mere sham.

There comes a time in any nation’s present when it is confronted with its own history. Very often, the present offers two possible ways to deal with the situation: either

Arshad Alam is a columnist with NewAgeIslam.com

Courtesy: New Age Islam
 

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