The Netherlands expressed its concern about the restrictions that some countries still impose against practising the right to religion and belief. Its delegate, Mr Paul Bekkers, indicated during discussions of the second item of the work of the 51st session of the Human Rights Council on September 13, 2022, that Saudi Arabia is among seven countries that still apply the death penalty on charges related to expressing religious opinions.
The Netherlands called on Saudi Arabia to immediately halt the implementation of this punishment and to take measures to ensure respect for human rights to freedom of belief and religion.
According to the monitoring of the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, Saudi Arabia continues to issue and implement the death penalty on a large scale on charges that are not considered among the most dangerous in international law. For example, those related to expressing an opinion and practising religious activities, as shown by the lists of charges of many execution victims such as Abbas Al-Hassan and Sheikh Muhammad Attia. In addition, the researcher, Hassan Farhan Al-Maliki, is still facing a death sentence on charges related to his historical and religious views.