The Saudi European Organization for Human Rights has monitored several indicators that raise serious concerns that the Saudi authorities may soon carry out new executions, which rise the number of executed death sentences.
The lack of transparency in the Saudi government’s handling with the death penalty file, in the absence of civil society and the intimidation and detention of human rights defenders, prevent the access to accurate information about the numbers of detainees facing death penalty, or their legal situation in some cases.
Despite that,the monitoring and documentation of the organization shows that at least 38 detainees, including a number of minors, continue to be threatened. The organization’s follow-up of cases in previous years has shown that these indicators are similar to those observed before mass executions in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
- Cases in more serious judicial stages:
There is difficulty in tracking and documenting cases in Saudi Arabia, where there is a lack of transparency in the government’s dealings with families and lawyers, in which it prevents them from obtaining updates on cases.
Nevertheless, the organization monitors 38 cases at various levels of litigation. The organization noted that since the beginning of 2021, many of these cases have moved to advanced judicial stages.
Some of the cases was transferred to the Presidency of State Security, which is the execution phase.
In the case of the minor Mustafa al-Darwish, months after the family tried to get updates on the case, they were informed in early June 2021 that the case was transferred to the Presidency of State Security to be executed unexpectedly days later on 15 June 2021. There are fears that Mustafa al-Khayat’s case could also be transferred to the Presidency of State Security and he might be killed, in light of the lack of information about his case.
In addition, in January 2021, the Court of Appeal upheld the death sentence of the minor Abdullah al-Huwaiti with Hirabah sentence and it was raised to the Supreme Court. The case of Ali Al Rabi’i, who is facing a Tazir final death sentence, on charges including protesting, was also referred to the Supreme Court.
In February 2021, the Specialized Criminal Court issued an initial Tazir death sentence against the young man, Mohammed al-Shakhouri. 12 detainees face initial death sentences. The Public Prosecution demands the execution of 20 detainees whose cases are still pending in the Specialized Criminal Court.
While some cases have gone through different judicial stages, the judiciary in Saudi Arabia has continued to procrastinate in cases that aroused international public opinion.
The Public Prosecution is still insisting on executing some prominent figures without indications of change, including the case of Sheik Salman al-Awdah and the case of Sheik Hassan al-Maliki, who face charges related to expressing their opinion.
- Higher implementation of sentences compared to previous year:
Six months after the start of 2021, the Saudi government broke the 2020 figure of 27 executions, matching the number of executions announced by the official Human Rights Commission. The Commission boasted about the number of executions carried out in 2020 and said it was a significant development in Saudi Arabia’s handling of the death penalty file, It also referred it the judicial and legal reforms. Figures from executions carried out in the first six months of 2021 show the falsehood of the Commission’s claims of reforms.
If the sentences continue to be carried out at this pace, the European-Saudi Organization expects the numbers to be doubled from last year, raising fears for the lives of individuals who still face the risk of execution at various judicial stages.
- Not taking legal or practical measures regarding official promises and statements:
The year 2020 witnessed a number of official statements related to the reduction of executions, including the publication of a royal order that confirmed that death sentences against minors had been replaced with prison sentences. In addition, the official Human Rights Commission has confirmed a moratorium on the death sentences of all minors before the Human Rights Council. Another statement issued in January 2021 said Saudi Arabia had suspended death sentences for drug offenses.
The statements have not been translated into legal form, as no alternative punishment has been set in the anti-drug law. Detainees are still facing final death sentences in drug-related cases and face an unknown fate. According to the European-Saudi Organization, the Saudi government did not take any legal measures against them, which enhances the state of uncertainty about their fate and the fear for their lives, with the legal article that stipulates their murder, and the death sentences remaining pending, and their legal status has not changed. Among them is Jordanian Hussein Abu Al-Khair, who has been sentenced to death since 2015.
In addition, in spite of the propaganda by Saudi Arabia that it had suspended the executions of minors, Mustafa Al Darwish was executed on 15 June 2021 and claimed that he was not a minor to justify his murder. The execution of Al-Darwish came along with ignoring the demands, especially by Human Rights Council bodies, for the publication of the royal order, which the Official Human Rights Commission said stipulated a moratorium on the Tazir death sentences against minors. and the organization was able to track cases of minors facing the death penalty, including Abdullah al-Huwaiti, Sajjad al-Yasin, Jalal al-Labbad and Yusuf al-Manasf.
The European Saudi Organization believes that in the absence of legal change and continuing trials of individuals on charges that are not the most serious and the prosecution’s demand for their execution, as well as the lack of accountability for torture and abuses during trials, there are growing fears of a new campaign of mass or individual executions.
The organization asserts that the Saudi government and its official agencies have always made false promises. In April 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised, in an interview with Time magazine, to minimize the number of death sentences so that the years following would witness unprecedented numbers of executions. In April 2019, Haidar al-Leif was executed after confirming to the UN reporters that his sentence had been commuted to prison. The Juvenile Law, which prohibits the killing of minors on Tazir death sentence, was issued in 2018 but it executed a number of minors in the April 2019 mass massacre.
Thus, the lack of confidence in statements and promises, along with recent indications that coincide well with those preceding mass executions in April 2019 and January 2016, confirms fears of doubling the numbers of executions carried out.