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Amnesty: Saudi Arabia Executing Foreigners Without Fair Trial
October 14, 2008 4:02 AM
By Simon McGregor-Wood, Correspondent & Bureau Chief, ABC News Jerusalem
Every week in Saudi Arabia at least two people are executed.
And according to a new report by Amnesty International a disproportionate number of those having their heads chopped off in the desert kingdom are poor foreigners from Asia and Africa.
The report alleges those facing trial often do not understand the court proceedings if they do not speak Arabic. Many of them do not even have their own attorneys. Often they are kept for long periods in harsh conditions, and the report accuses the Saudi authorities of extracting false confessions under torture and coercion.
“Poor foreign workers are literally paying with their lives,” said Karen Allen of Amnesty International. “Frequently bamboozled by secretive and unfair trials concluded in a language they don’t understand. They go to their deaths with little assistance from their home countries and little mercy from a grossly unfair Saudi justice system.”
The report alleges that between 1985 and May 2008 Saudi authorities executed 1,695 people. Of these 830 were foreigners.
Foreigners account for 25 percent of the kingdom’s population but more than 50 percent of those suffering its death penalty.
The reports finds that Saudi nationals accused of capital crimes are eight times more likely to secure a stay of execution through the payment of so-called “blood money.”
It found that one pardon in every four cases was handed down to a Saudi national, compared with only one in 30, in trials with foreign defendants.
The report also says that Saudi Arabia remains one of the few countries continuing to execute women in large numbers and people for crimes they committed when they were younger than 18.
Saudi Arabia uses a strict form of Shariah religious law that exacts the death penalty for crimes such as rape, murder, armed robbery and drug dealing.
But perhaps the report’s most chilling case history was that of five men from Somalia convicted for robbery in 1999. They were condemned to death, flogged and imprisoned for five years.
The report says they had no idea they were going to be executed until the morning they were beheaded.
A Saudi representative was not immediately available for comment.
But the Reuters wire agency said Saudi authorities reject regular criticism of the country’s death penalty and beheading, saying it is a humane method of execution and sanctioned under Islamic law.
They also claim convicts are drugged before their execution to minimize the chances of pain.
Photo Credit: Reuters
Read more from Simon McGregor-Wood
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October 14, 2008 in World View | Permalink | Share | User Comments (14)
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If we were only energy independent....
Instead we are bound to the Saudi's and can't say to much about their human rights (or their ties to terrorists).
Posted by: samhiguchi | Oct 14, 2008 4:19:28 AM
This is absolutely barbaric. For a country, in the 21st century to resort to the death penalty is absolutely insane. Unfortunately the world continues to turn a blind eye on the inhumane treatment of foreign citizens in saudi arabia.
Posted by: samproud | Oct 14, 2008 5:06:09 AM
Its real simple....dont go to Saudi Arabia if youre not a national.
Posted by: babaor | Oct 14, 2008 6:11:35 AM
It seems that the Saudis don't like foriegners, that's pretty clear.
My question is... if you're giving convicts drugs to minimize the pain why not just add a wee bit more and, yanno, kill them?
Posted by: Mina | Oct 14, 2008 7:37:20 AM
imagine the drop in crimein the u.s. if there was an actual punishment for serious crimes
and though they are extreme. in some ways they seem to be smarter than us
Posted by: kato | Oct 14, 2008 7:47:05 AM
Their country, their rules.
Posted by: Esteban | Oct 14, 2008 7:53:52 AM
as a country we lack the conviction to actually set precedents for serious crime.
why should we pay the justice dept. to keep a rapist and murderer alive for 20 years and struggle to pay taxes at the same time.
id like to see serious punishmet for serious crime in the u.s.
examples
kidnapping / human trafficking-- death
aggrivated rape or murder / death
this country has become a haven for anyone who wants to break the law, and as a result a huge volume of people have no incentive to accept or live by any proposed rule of decent scociety
Posted by: kato | Oct 14, 2008 8:00:44 AM
I agree. Who are we to judge how another country handles their business as far as punishment for crimes? Who is America to judge that? We are hypocrites. I agree on the fact that if we had harsher punishments for the guilty and did it like the old days and not give inmates, on taxpayer dollars by the way, tv's, food, weight rooms, books, we would save more money and have less crimes. With any crime. The U.S. is too tolerant of rapists, murderers, and being tolerant of that in itself is more barbaric than beheading a criminal and making an example of them.
Posted by: Nikki | Oct 14, 2008 8:29:49 AM
Oil has the amazing power to make a champion of representative government (USA) climb into bed with with a depraved, barbaric theocracy. If we were true to our principles we would help enlightened Saudis overthrow their tyrannical "royal" family and establish a republic!
Posted by: Ted | Oct 14, 2008 9:35:38 AM
if only the creators of the internal combustion engine (and mass marketers like Henry Ford) had only known how their inventions would be exploited through international geo-politics...
Posted by: Jazz | Oct 14, 2008 11:06:20 AM
Saudi Arabia uses a strict form of Shariah religious law that exacts the death penalty for crimes such as rape, murder, armed robbery and drug dealing
==
so basically what you are proposing.
rape: forget about it, give the rapist another victim to RAPE
murder: forget about it, give the aggressor another victim to KILL
armed robbery:forget about it, send the ROBBERS to another BANK to STEAL
drug dealing: ALSO, forget about it, send the DRUG PUSHERS to another AREA to PUSH DOPE and turn kids to addicts and robbers and girls to prostitutes.
Here, problem solved, hope you are happy.
Posted by: john | Oct 14, 2008 11:44:15 AM
I dont see any thing wrong for imposing the death penalty for rape,murder,armed robbery ,drug dealers,and members of oranized crime..works for me..go for it.
Posted by: chavis | Oct 14, 2008 1:20:14 PM
Saudi Arabia - kinda like Texas. We all know this pseudo-religious country is the worst example of two-faced government in the world. Why do we even associate with such an intolerant society? All the more need to detach ourselves from them and become energy self-reliant.
Posted by: Bob | Oct 15, 2008 4:32:33 AM
One crooked CEO in this country can loot hundreds of millions of stockholder's net worth, and then live like a prince. The USA cannot throw the first stone. Their country, their rules.
Posted by: john | Oct 15, 2008 8:36:11 AM
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