The Saudi Arabian government on Saturday (12/3/2022) executed 81 people convicted of crimes ranging from murder to membership of a militant group. The executions were the largest known mass executions carried out in the kingdom in its modern history.
According to the AP, the number of people executed exceeds even the January 1980 mass execution for the 63 militants convicted of seizing the Grand Mosque in Mecca in 1979. It was the worst militant attack to target the kingdom and Islam's holiest site.
It is not clear why the kingdom chose Saturday to carry out the execution. However, this execution comes at a time when the world's attention remains focused on Russia's war in Ukraine.
The number of death penalty cases carried out in Saudi Arabia has declined during the coronavirus pandemic, although the kingdom continues to behead convicts under King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced Saturday's executions, saying they were carried out against those convicted of various crimes, including the murder of innocent men, women and children.
The kingdom also said some of those executed were members of al-Qaida, the Islamic State group and also supporters of Yemen's Houthi rebels.
As is well known, the Saudi-led coalition has been battling the Iran-backed Houthis since 2015 in neighboring Yemen in a bid to return the internationally recognized government to power.
Those executed included 73 Saudis, seven Yemenis and one Syrian. The report did not say where the executions took place.
"The defendants were granted the right to be accompanied by a lawyer and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process, which found them guilty of various heinous crimes that left a large number of civilians and law enforcement officers dead," SPA said.
Citing The Age, these mass executions in Saudi Arabia come at a time of heightened concern over Saudi Arabia's human rights record, but also as the West struggles to replace its dependence on Russian oil after its invasion of Ukraine.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was reported on Saturday to visit Saudi Arabia in a bid for closer trade ties.
Johnson is expected to travel to the Saudi capital, Riyadh, in the coming week to meet the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in a bid to broker a new oil deal.
"The Kingdom will continue to take a firm and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies that threaten stability throughout the world," the SPA report said.
The report has not been independently verified, nor is it possible to ascertain whether any of those found guilty received a fair trial.
