On 3 August 2021, the Saudi government executed by Taazir Ahmed bin Saeed bin Ali al-Janabi. According to the Interior Ministry's official statement on the verdict, al-Janabi did not face charges that included murder or bloodshed, and several of his charges were linked to protesting.
Taazir is a punishment estimated by the judge, and most Islamic views consider that it don’t reach to killing, but Saudi Arabia follows a path that is one of the most extreme judicial systems in countries that claim to follow the Islamic law (Sharia).
Al-Janabi was sentenced to Tazazir on charges some of them relating to his participation in demonstrations, expressing opinions, drugs and shooting.
This is contrary to Saudi Arabia's promises not to use the death penalty for crimes that are not of the most serious, and statements about amending laws and suspending Tazir arbitrary death sentences. The sentence was also handed down with continues violations of fair trial conditions, including confessions extracted under torture.
The official Human Rights Commission had said that there is moratorium to death sentences for drug offenses, unlike what happened in al-Janabi's case, according to the official statement. State media have also been promoting a policy of rewriting laws to stop Tazir sentences, but the recent execution of al-Janabi and others, including Mustafa Darwish, confirms the falsity of these promises.
Saudi Arabia holds the detainees' cases in high secrecy, and intimidation limits much knowledge of what is happening in the prisons and courts. However, the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights is following up on what can be monitored in cases of those facing the death penalty. ESOHR has not been able to identify al-Janabi's name on death or detention lists at any time. His detention was kept secret, and his trial has not been conducted in public, as the other trials in the Terrorism Court.
This raises fears on lives of other individuals whose issues were not documented because of the Saudi government's policy of terrorizing the people and imposing silence on civil society, in addition to fears for the lives of at least 42 detainees, ESOHR was able to monitor their cases.
With this execution, the number of sentences implemented from the beginning of 2021 until 3 August becomes 42, a 68% increase in the total number of executions carried out during 2020.
ESOHR believes that the execution of al-Janabi, nearly a month and a half after the execution of minor Mustafa al-Darwish, confirms the fears previously raised, regarding Saudi Arabia's determination to implement more arbitrary executions.
The execution take place in the same time of the approval by the Specialized Court of Appeal of the death sentence against young man Mohamed Al-Shakhouri, after a trial that is far from the conditions of justice. This shows that the Saudi government is proceeding with a wave of new executions.
Saudi Arabia's killing of Al-Janabi shows disregard of international opinions and criticism, as Saudi Arabia faced several sharp criticisms over Al-Darwish's execution, most notably from the European Parliament.
Saudi Arabia has continually promoted the issue of the rehabilitation of detainees through several programs, the most prominent of which is the Muhammad Bin Nayef Counseling Center, which presents it as a place for the rehabilitation of detainees, whether they are called terrorists or prisoners of conscience.
It presents it as a good sign of dealing with prisoners, in order to rehabilitate them and reintegrate them back into society. On the other hand, the execution of people who didn’t face charges of murder or even injuring someone, confirm Saudi Arabia's bias towards excessive cruelty, oppression, violence and bloodshed at a time when it can deal with the case through this or other methods, away from murder.
ESOHR stresses that Saudi Arabia's continued execution of Tazir sentences and the continued threat to the lives of dozens is a clear breach of false promises. It shows the reality of harsh official dealings with citizens, which is a true translation of the King's, and his son's, attitude towards the people.