|
SAUDI ARABIA: BODY OF CRUCIFIED 'CRIMINAL' WAS PUT ON PUBLIC DISPLAY FOLLOWING 37 EXECUTIONS
April 29, 2019: The body of a crucified criminal was put on public display in Saudi Arabia after the execution of 37 nationals in one day, according to local media reports.
State-run media carried statements on 23 April 2019 to say those executed had ‘adopted extremist ideologies and formed terrorist cells with the aim of spreading chaos and provoking sectarian strife’.
Saudi authorities said that one person was crucified after his execution, with the Middle East Eye reporting that the body was then publicly displayed.
The U.N. human rights chief condemned the beheadings, saying most were minority Shi'ite Muslims who may not have had fair trials and at least three were minors when sentenced.
The name of the person who was crucified has not been released by authorities.
Two people beheaded in Saudi Arabia were arrested when they were just 16 and 17 - including one teenager set to start a new life in the US at Western Michigan University.
Mujtaba al-Sweikat, then 17, was severely beaten all over his body, including on the soles of his feet, before 'confessing' to crimes including attending protests.
In 2017, staff at the university said the English language and pre-finance studies student showed 'great promise' and called for him to be released.
Abdulkarim al-Hawaj, 21, was also beheaded in public four years after being arrested in the country's Shia-majority Eastern province for spreading information about protests on WhatsApp when he was just 16.
Human rights charity Reprieve said al-Hawaj was beaten, tortured with electricity and chained with his hands above his head until he 'confessed' to his crimes.
A third man among the 37 executed, Munir al-Adam, was just 23 when arrested at a government checkpoint in April 2012.
He was beaten on the soles of his feet and had to crawl on his hands and knees for days. As a five-year-old boy he had lost his hearing in one ear following an accident, but after torture he lost hearing in the other and was left totally deaf.
He told a judge he had signed a confession because he was exhausted by the torture. (Sources: dailymail.co.uk, 25/04/2019)
|
