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Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia

Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is a legal punishment. Most executions in the country are carried out by decapitation (beheading). Saudi Arabia is the only country that still uses this method.[1] Capital punishment is used both for offenders of lethal crimes and non-lethal crimes, as well as juvenile offenders.[2] Among those executed are individuals charged with non-lethal terrorism, a charge that has been used against individuals who participated in protests against the authoritarian regime in Saudi Arabia.[2]

Death sentences are almost exclusively based on the system of judicial sentencing discretion (tazir), following the classical principle of avoiding Sharia-prescribed (hudud) penalties when possible.[3] In response to a 1970s rise in violent crime, these sentences increased. This paralleled similar developments in the U.S. and mainland China in the late 20th century.[3] A central square in the Kingdom's capital, Riyadh, became known in the West as "Chop-Chop Square" due to public executions there.

The kingdom executed at least 158 people in 2015,[4] at least 154 in 2016,[5] at least 146 in 2017,[6] 149 in 2018,[7] 184 in 2019,[8] 69 in 2020, 196 in 2022,[9] 172 in 2023[10] and 345 in 2024.[11]

In 2022, Saudi Arabia executed more people than in any year over the previous three decades.[12] The largest known mass execution in the country's history[13] was carried out on March 12 that year, when 81 people were executed, including seven Yemenis and one Syrian.[14]

In 2024, executions reached a new high of 345, almost exactly doubling the 172 executions carried out in 2023.[11][15][16]

  1. ^ "An execution every two days: Saudi Arabia's surge in killings". www.amnesty.org.uk. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  2. ^ a b "Saudi executions rose sharply in 2024". CNN. 2024-12-25.
  3. ^ a b Vikør, Knut S. (2005). Between God and the Sultan: A History of Islamic Law. Oxford University Press. pp. 266–267.
  4. ^ "Saudi Arabia ends 2015 with one final execution". The Independent. January 1, 2016. Archived from the original on December 8, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2017.
  5. ^ "Death sentences and executions in 2016". amnesty.org. 11 April 2017. Archived from the original on September 9, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  6. ^ "The Death Penalty in 2017: Facts and Figures". Amnesty International. 2018-04-12. Archived from the original on 2020-09-04. Retrieved 2018-07-16.
  7. ^ "Death Penalty Worldwide". deathpenaltyworldwide.org. Archived from the original on 2019-06-16. Retrieved 2019-10-25.
  8. ^ Sullivan, Rory (15 April 2020). "Saudi Arabia has carried out 800 executions since 2015, says rights group". The Independent. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Database". Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide. 24 December 2019. Archived from the original on 2022-11-16. Retrieved 2022-11-16.
  10. ^ "Saudi executed 172 in 2023, as bloodiest years in kingdom's history continue, rights group warns". Middle East Monitor. 2024-01-02. Archived from the original on 2024-05-20. Retrieved 2024-10-14.
  11. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "Death sentences and executions 2022". Amnesty International. Retrieved 2024-01-07.
  13. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes 81 people in a single day". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 14 March 2022. Retrieved 15 March 2022.
  14. ^ "Saudi Arabia executes 81 men in one day for terrorism, other offences". Reuters. Reuters. Reuters. 12 March 2022. Archived from the original on 13 March 2022. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
  15. ^ "عهد الدم: رقم تاريخي للإعدام في السعودية ٢٠٢٤ – المنظمة الأوروبية السعودية لحقوق الإنسان". 2025-01-05. Retrieved 2025-01-06.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference magid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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عقوبة الإعدام في السعودية Arabic সৌদি আরবে মৃত্যুদণ্ড Bengali/Bangla Todesstrafe in Saudi-Arabien German Θανατική ποινή στη Σαουδική Αραβία Greek Peine de mort en Arabie saoudite French Hukuman mati di Arab Saudi ID Pena di morte in Arabia Saudita Italian サウジアラビアにおける死刑 Japanese 사우디아라비아의 사형제 Korean വധശിക്ഷ സൗദി അറേബ്യയിൽ Malayalam

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