Saudi Arabia attacked countries that criticized their violations during the discussions of the fourth item of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council. In a speech delivered by its delegate to the council, Faisal Mashari al-Madhi, on March 22, 2022, Saudi Arabia considered that referring to its violations is politicizing the work of the HRC and a lack of impartiality in dealing with human rights.
While Saudi Arabia is waging war on Yemen, criticizing countries and attacking others in its statements, the speech considered that criticism of human rights violations interfered in internal affairs and rejected what it described as politicized statements.
Saudi Arabia repeated its allegations in response to countries and reports that document violations. It claimed that its judiciary is independent and considers all standards, disregarding the judiciary’s direct association to the king and the crown prince, the king appointing judges, and the fact that death sentences are not executed without the king’s signature.
Saudi Arabia once again used fighting terrorism as an excuse. He added that Saudi Arabia had suffered from the phenomenon of terrorism and that the terrorism law is only applied to those who disturb security in the country. He claimed that the executed individuals had committed the most heinous deadly crimes and targeted places of worship and others. The recent Saudi executions mixed many cases, combining murders with other charges such as non-violent charges and participating in demonstrations. According to the official statement, dozens of those executed were not charged with murder.
In addition, it claimed that the judicial procedures are fair that the defendants obtained all their rights, including the right to self-defense. The documentation of ESOHR confirmed that many individuals were subjected to torture to extract confessions from them and other violations that show the lack of justice in the trials.
It added that the death penalty is not prohibited internationally, ignoring the basic legal frameworks of capital punishment that must be respected, including child rights and the right to protection from torture and limiting them to the most serious crimes.
ESOHR believes that Saudi Arabia has violated international laws in the recent executions and is practicing systematic misinformation through its words before international authorities. The organization also considers that the attack of Saudi Arabia on the countries that have criticized it expressly shows its rejection of any criticism of its human rights file.