RIYADH – Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed 37 of its citizens convicted ofterrorism, three years after another mass execution that ultimately led toa break in relations with Iran.
The latest executions were carried out in Riyadh, the Muslim holy cities ofMecca and Medina, the predominantly Sunni province of Qassim, and in theEastern Province, home to the country’s Shiite minority.
The men were executed “for adopting terrorist and extremist thinking andfor forming terrorist cells to corrupt and destabilise security”, said theofficial Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
It said one person was crucified after his execution, a punishment reservedfor particularly serious crimes.
At least 100 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia since the start ofthe year, according to data released by SPA.
On Sunday, four men were killed in an attack on a security services basenorth of the capital Riyadh in an assault claimed by the jihadist IslamicState group.
Saudi authorities arrested 13 “terrorist” suspects the next day, but theydid not say where the arrests took place or if they were linked to Sunday’sattack.
– ‘Sectarian strife’ –
The interior ministry said some of those executed Tuesday were accused of”inciting sectarian strife”, a charge often used in Saudi Arabia againstShiite activists.
The Eastern Province has seen bouts of unrest since 2011 when protestersemboldened by the Arab Spring took to the streets demanding an end toalleged discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government.
Although no official figures exist, Shiites make up an estimated 10-15percent of the ultra-conservative kingdom’s 32 million population.
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In January 2016, Saudi Arabia enraged Shiite Iran with the execution ofprominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, among a group of 47 people convictedof “terrorism”.
Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran were attacked in violent demonstrations,prompting Riyadh to sever relations with Tehran.
Riyadh accuses Tehran of attempting to “destabilise” the region and ofinterfering in other countries’ internal affairs.
– Concerns about fairness of trials –
Rights experts have repeatedly raised concerns about the fairness of trialsin Saudi Arabia, governed under a strict form of Islamic law.
Executions in the ultra-conservative kingdom are usually carried out bybeheading.
Last year, the oil-rich Gulf state carried out 149 death sentences,according to Amnesty International, which said only Iran was known to haveexecuted more people.
People convicted of terrorism, homicide, rape, armed robbery and drugtrafficking face the death penalty, which the Saudi government says servesas a deterrent against serious crime. – APP/AFP
