As Saudi Arabia continues to issue and carry out death sentences, ranking prominently among the top five countries with the highest execution rates, the world observes the World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10, 2023, under the theme "Execution: Irreversible Torture."
For the second consecutive year, the general theme of International Day focuses on examining the relationship between the implementation of the death penalty and torture, as well as harsh and inhumane punishments and treatments. In addition to what detainees who are sentenced to death endure from the moment of their arrest until the issuance of the verdict, they face widespread violations that constitute continuous torture for them even until the execution. These violations do not cease after the execution, with the psychological torture experienced by their families.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights believes that Saudi Arabia's practices underscore the need for the complete prohibition of torture and ill-treatment in international law to apply to the death penalty. Dealing with detainees involves widespread violations. In addition to documented physical and psychological torture, the post-verdict and execution procedures result in severe torture.
Execution Methods:
The methods used by countries to carry out the death penalty vary, and they cause exceptional pain to the convicts and their families. Saudi Arabia is known to rely on beheading with a sword and employs skilled executioners to carry out the beheading process with a sword. In some cases, they intentionally crucify those sentenced to death for the gravest crimes, where the body is hung after the beheading. In addition, there is information indicating the use of other methods of execution, including firing squads, in certain circumstances."
In addition, Saudi Arabia used to carry out executions in public squares openly in the past, while data suggests that executions are currently conducted within prisons.
According to the observations of the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, the Saudi government's treatment during the execution process varies based on the type of charge. In cases of execution for homicide, the victims' families are granted the right to be present and witness the execution, while executions in political cases are carried out secretly, depriving families of their right to say goodbye and the right to bury their loved ones.
ESOHR's monitoring confirms that most families of individuals sentenced to death in political cases learned about the execution through media outlets, including Mustafa Al-Darwish, a minor who was executed in June 2021. His family found out about his death through social media while waiting for his weekly phone call. Additionally, the suffering of these families continues after the execution, as Saudi Arabia refuses to comply with requests to release the bodies, and currently, they are holding at least 140 bodies.
The Death Row Phenomenon
The Saudi government does not publicly disclose the number of individuals sentenced to death in its prisons. According to documentation by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights as of October 2023, 65 individuals, including 9 minors, are currently facing the death penalty, with 64 of them receiving death sentences in political cases. According to indicators, the actual number of those sentenced to death is significantly higher, as the organization, in recent years, had only observed 4% of cases before the sentences were carried out.
Many of these detainees remain in prisons for years before the sentences against them are carried out, while they, their families, and their lawyers do not know the time of execution.
In March 2022, Saudi Arabia executed the Jordanian citizen Hussein Abu Al-Khair for drug-related charges, eight years after his arrest. Abu Al-Khair and his family were awaiting a new verdict and his release from prison after the official Human Rights Commission announced in January 2020 that it had suspended the execution of all death sentences for drug crimes. However, he was shocked, along with other detainees in the same cell, when some of his friends were executed one by one at the beginning of November 2022. He continued to wait for the execution of his sentence each time the prison guards opened his cell door until his sentence was carried out on March 14, 2022, without notifying his family.
In addition to that, detainees in Saudi prisons suffer severe psychological distress while awaiting the execution of their sentences. For example, in March 2023, information received by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights indicated that executions are carried out almost every Tuesday at the Dammam Investigation Prison, where inmates gather to witness the transfer of one of the convicts to execution. During this period, both the detainees in prison and their families experience devastating psychological conditions, especially since executions are carried out without prior notice and in a context of transparency absence in various stages of the judicial process.
Discrimination:
In 2023, Saudi Arabia executed 24 individuals who were foreign nationals. These individuals came from various nationalities, including Yemeni, Pakistani, Nepali, Egyptian, Indian, Jordanian, and others. Over the past ten years, foreigners have accounted for 40% of the total executions carried out in Saudi Arabia.
According to documentation, foreign detainees in Saudi prisons face widespread violations, including the extraction of confessions under torture and being deprived of the right to adequate self-defence, obtaining a translator, and after sentencing, discrimination against them leads to mistreatment and numerous violations. This includes being denied the right to communication, confinement in small and overcrowded cells, and more. In addition, Saudi Arabia does not respond to the demands of foreign families to receive the bodies of their executed children, which constitutes continuous psychological torture for the families.
Minors:
Saudi Arabia violates its obligations and its laws, including the Special Events System that was introduced in 2018. Despite the laws that are supposed to protect them, juvenile detainees facing charges that occurred when they were minors are subjected to various violations. Information indicates that they are placed in prisons not designated for juveniles, and they experience torture and ill-treatment. Trials often result in death sentences being issued against them.
Currently, at least 9 minors are at risk of execution, including Abdullah Al-Huwaiti, Abdullah Al-Darazi, Jalal Labbad, Yusuf Al-Manasif, Ali Al-Mabiouq, Hassan Zaki Al- Faraj, Ali Ali Hassan al-Subaiti, Jawad Qureiris, and Mahdi Al-Mohsin. Eight of these minors face non-violent charges that are not considered the most serious crimes under international law.
ESOHR believes that Saudi Arabia's practices make the essence of the death penalty a form of torture that is prohibited both legally and internationally. The organization emphasizes that the intimidation and harassment tactics used against death row prisoners and their families reflect the arbitrary use of punishment and disregard for individuals' rights and mental well-being. This targeting mostly affects vulnerable groups and individuals detained on charges related to expressing their opinions or engaging in political activities.
ESOHR believes that the indicators show that what has been documented during these past years represents only a small fraction of the violations that occur in prisons against death row inmates. This situation is exacerbated by the lack of transparency and the absence of any role for civil society and its institutions.