Record number of executions in Saudi Arabia

The voices echoing around the world against the death penalty remain unheard in Saudi Arabia. It is the country where the death penalty is most widely applied in proportion to the number of inhabitants. On Saturday, the number of executions officially carried out in public surpassed recent records.

81 people, almost all of them accused of religiously motivated crimes, were beheaded in Riyadh and other cities across the country. In a single day, the 69 were surpassed, paying with their lives for crimes and sins committed last year. For the avoidance of doubt, the news was confirmed by the Kingdom's official news agency, SPA.

73 of those executed were Saudi nationals, seven Yemenis and one Syrian. The convictions were part of the fight against terrorism: most were accused of belonging to the so-called Islamic State, the rest to the Al-Qaeda network and one a member of the Houthi community, against which Saudi Arabia has been fighting for several years to oust them from power in Yemen. 

All the victims were convicted under the Shari'a-derived laws that make up the Saudi penal code. The charges against them were varied and have not been detailed. In the Saudi kingdom, murder and armed robbery, among other crimes, are punishable by the maximum penalty. 

But unlike in most other countries, rape, adultery, sodomy and, of course, any kind of attack on places of religious worship, including negative expressions or taunts against the beliefs and dogmas of Islam, are also considered crimes punishable by death.

The sentences carried out on Saturday were handed down by courts which, in the opinion of experts, do not rigorously respect the basic principles of justice in line with international standards. The weight of religious accusations is crucial and judges do not usually listen to the arguments of the defenders whose weight is minimal.