SAUDI ARABIA: FIVE YEMENIS EXECUTED IN LATEST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT WAVE

March 2, 2024:

Saudi Arabia on February 28, 2024 executed five Yemeni nationals charged with murder and robbery, state media reported, bringing the number of executions in the kingdom this year to 34.
An interior ministry statement, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, said the group had been convicted of the murder of a fellow Yemeni and of "forming a gang for the purpose of theft and robbery."
The five executions were carried out late in the southwestern Asir region of the country.
The announcement came a day after seven others were executed for "establishing and financing terrorist organizations."
SPA said the five men – named as Hassan Fatini, Ibrahim Ali, Abdullah Darwish, Abdullah Majari and Hamoud Shuai – had handcuffed the victim, Ahmed al-Aradi, and beat him over the head.
The statement said the men had lost an appeal and the verdict was upheld by the supreme court.
Last year, capital punishment was used 170 times in Saudi Arabia, according to an AFP tally based on official data.