"Death penalty given to 37 men convicted of terror-related crimes"
Summary: Saudi Arabia has one of the highest death penalty rates in the world. In January of 2016, one of the largest mass executions was carried out when 47 people were put to death. The executed prisoners were accused of terrorism and having an extremist ideology. Executions have seen an increase since Prince Mohammed bin Salman first emerged onto the kingdoms political scene in 2015. This comes as no surprise as bin Salman began his political career as a defense minister, overseeing an intensified crackdown on dissent. After beginning his career as a defense minister, he was elevated to Crown Prince in 2017, where he has commanded the rounding up of scores of activists, high profile clerics, analysts, businessmen, and princes, as well as women's rights defenders.
A statement was released by the SPA stating that the death penalty was given to these people because they had adopted extremist terrorist ideology's and formed terrorist cells. The statement listed the names of the 37 men killed while also denying any use of torture. Of the 37 executed, 11 men where convicted of spying for Iran, while 14 of them were convicted of violent offenses related to anti-government protests.
While Saudi Arabia has said that the event was a case of "justice being served", many people believe that the execution, which was made up of mostly Shia men, was a sham that actually got confessions through torture. While huge question marks remain over if torture was used to force these men into confessing, there remains lots of questions over the use of crucifixion on one of the executed men. Crucifixion in Saudi Arabia means that the body of an executed man is strung up and used as a deterrent. While it is true that the man is already dead, this is still a pretty disgusting way to use the body of a dead man, especially in public.
A meeting between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
An official from the US State Department has reportedly urged the kingdom to "ensure fair trial guarantees". The US has stated that they have many concerns about Human Rights in Saudi Arabia and how the government is handling situations like these. There is much skepticism about freedom of religion in Saudi Arabia and whether that has to do with any of these trials. While no action has been taken, the US has stated that they have "spoken out publicly" and will continue to do so.
Reaction: While I do not agree with mass execution and the death penalty being given out so frequently, I can understand where they are coming from. Terrorism is a very challenging problem to approach and in the Middle East especially, they seem to be surrounded by it at many times. This no tolerance policy that bin Salman has adopted seems to be successful in uncovering people with intentions of terrorism, if thats what they truly are. While I do not agree with any parts of crucifixion, the big red flag for me is the questions about whether or not these trials are fair and are not trying to target a certain religion. If in fact these people are being tortured in order to confess, this is a huge human rights violation and is something that countries like the US, need to look into immediately and seek out ways to bring an end to it.
Connection: This article draws a connection to when Stalin was the leader of Russia and the show trials that went on. For example, the Moscow Trials acted almost like a purge of Stalins opposition, with the goal of elimination opposition to Stalin and people that he didn't like. And while it has not been proven that any of these trials have been corrupt and wrong, some people have come out and released statements saying that they were tortured in order to try and get them to confess. These trials also are made up of mostly Shia men, so like the Moscow Trials, it seems to be targeting a specific group of people and trying to eliminate some of them.
Questions:
1. Do you believe that these trials are fairly eliminating people with terrorist ideas or targeting a certain religion?
2. Do you believe that it is ok for Saudi Arabia to be executing and giving the death penalty so frequently and willingly?
3. Should countries like the US take a closer look into this situation and whether it is a human rights violation?
I believe that what is going on in Saudi Arabia is absolutely atrocious and something should be done. To call a group that has a different ideology than you a terrorist organization is absurd. As in the article some of the people sentenced to death got this punishment by supporting or helping women's rights groups. As currently in Saudi Arabia women can’t make important decisions such as traveling or even getting married without a man's consent or also that women are not allowed to spend time with men whom they are not related to. (https://www.theweek.co.uk/60339/things-women-cant-do-in-saudi-arabia) People who fight for women to have these basic rights along with many more rights are considered “terrorists” and end up being executed. Clearly a sovereign nation such as Saudi Arabia is entitled to their own laws but at the same time these laws should not impeach on the basic rights of humans. I am not opposed to the idea of a death penalty but only when it is necessary or justified such as murder and maybe not even then. There should be a clean cut or somewhat definitive line established that illustrates what is worthy of the death penalty. It is not right to go around and hand out death penalties especially if it is fighting for the rights of others. If these types of executions continue which they most likely will, then hopefully the UN will take action and do something to help the people who are being slaughtered for no justified reason.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Josh. While individual country's are entitled to govern their people how they wish and control them how they wish, but a line must be drawn as soon as human rights are overlooked. While Saudi Arabia has been attacked by terrorists in the past, there is not any concrete evidence against many of the people executed in order to prove that they truly have terrorist ideas. A simple thing that we in America take for granted, Woman's Rights, is something that in Saudi Arabia is not present like it is for us here. The simple act of supporting a group that is trying to gain rights for women is considered to be terrorism and one could be executed for this. This is absolutely horrifying and steps should be taken to try and change this.
DeleteI think that every country has their own way of imposing their control over citizens, and Saudi Arabia does so with fear. The high execution rate and the ordered killing of the American-Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi last year is clearly showing how Saudi authoritarian regime is coercing control on their citizens through terror. Khashoggi was killed last year after months of writing criticism about the crowned prince Muhammed bin Salman in the Washington Post (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45812399). His death, along with the individuals executed daily, serve as a warning for Saudi Arabian citizens to stay in line with Saudi policies and not rebel.
ReplyDeleteSoon after Khashoggi’s death, Donald Trump met with the Saudi Prince, after which he stated: “Saudi Arabia buys a lot, I don't want to lose them.” Because of that interaction, I do not think that the US will interfere with Saudi Arabia’s government and business, especially with Trump as current president.
I think that these trials are not completely fair for the people, but however it is somewhat fair at the same time. From my understanding, I think that it is both a situation where it based on religion and terrorist. I believe that it fine for the way for Saudi Arabia to be executing and giving the death penalty so frequently and willingly. Saudi Arabia is its own country and should be allowed what they want to do at their own will. I think that getting the U.S. involved into this issue will only make things worse. If the U.S were to get involved this would make it a bigger problem to deal with, and not to mention what is at stake. Saudi Arabia is one of the biggest oil exports out there and messing with that would cause more harm than good. If Saudi Arabia were to stop exporting oil to the U.S. there would be many issues and relations between the two countries would be horrible. https://www.investopedia.com/articles/company-insights/082316/worlds-top-10-oil-exporters.asp. To completely summarize, I would not do anything and try not to be concerned about that issue.
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ReplyDeleteI believe that these trials are not run completely fair towards all people. On one side Bin Salman wants to help fix the terrorism problem in Saudi Arabia and other countries around the Middle East, it also seems to be targeting people of the Shia religion. If this is the case than countries should look into the trials. I believe that if Saudi Arabia should be less hasty towards giving many of their convicted terrorists the death sentence. However Saudi Arabia's country experiences more of a frequency of extremist groups than we have in the U.S. which could justify for their harsh sentences. Other countries should look into this situation to see how these trials are being run and if they have a bias towards the Shia group or not. They should also look for the violations that Saudi Arabia is accused of but to not pressure the Saudi government too much as they're on good relations right now as the U.S. relies on Saudis natural resources. https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/us-saudi-arabia-relations
ReplyDeleteIF these were really terror related crimes a zero tolerance policy would be none of our buisness however this is not the case. When the majority of your "terrorist" are a religous minority you dislike and torture is your way of extracting information you indefinitly are not looking for terrorist you are persecuting a religious minority. I was interseted in the title as it said someone was punished with crucification. This caused me to stumble upon how saudia arabia executes the death penalty. Those given it are beheaded which is insanely painful. This brings light onto how cruel and unssualy these punishments are. In the U.S our death penalty is painless without those who recive it dying without intense harm and only severe crimes recive it. These punishments are indefinetly human rights violations and the U.S and other countries should force saudi arabia to change its death penalty punishment to at least be painless.(https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-48028518)(article on crufiction of saudi man).
ReplyDeleteI think it is hard to know for sure if the trials are what we would consider fair at all or whether there is torture involved or not. Obviously, these acts are atrocious and unjust if torture is involved, as well as that this is a way to classify and isolate certain groups of people. I think that the US speaking up is very good and it's difficult to know what more they can do if we don't 100% know the full story, or hidden motive. People don't really fully know whether or not this is an extreme violation of human rights. Other countries shouldn't necessarily expect the worst or make assumptions, but they do need to consider them possible until thoroughly disproven. Human rights almost seems as if it is portrayed as a simply obtainable thing here in the US. However, that is surely not always true, we are very privileged compared to many countries around the world and we shouldn't hesitate to stand up for other peoples' rights.
ReplyDeleteTerrorism is a problem that plagues the world. I think that terrorists should be given the harshest punishment under the law for hurting and killing innocents. Of course, the death penalty is very serious and the convicted should have the right to a fair trial before being dealt something so heavy. If they are truly guilty the death penalty is suitable. People capable of such evil do not deserve life when they have taken away so many, and definitely not on tax payer dollars. Severely punishing terrorists will make an example out of them to everyone else.
ReplyDeleteI don't believe that there is enough information to determine whether human rights violations are occurring. However, the zero tolerance policy is a step in the right direction. Terrorism is a complex issue, and when it runs rampant and nothing else works, fear may be the only solution. However, "crucifixion" is a disgusting and disrespectful use of a dead body, whether the man was a terrorist or not. In my opinion it is unnecessary and excessive. I doubt US interference is the right way to go in this situation, whether human rights violations are occurring or not. We must remember that the culture is vastly different in the Middle East, and violence is pretty normalizing in the tumultuous environment. Interference is unlikely to do anything but worsen relations with the US, and possibly disrupt a policy that, while somewhat questionable, is effective in its harshness under the chaotic circumstances.
ReplyDeleteKayla Li:
ReplyDeleteAs someone who supports capitol punishment in the correct circumstances, I still believe Saudi Arabia's implementation of the death penalty has exceeded necessary means and limits. In the US, the death penalty is administered to individuals who's committed obscene crimes such as treason, mass drug trafficking, and murder (Source:
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/crimes-punishable-death-penalty). In Saudi Arabia, adultery, homosexuality, and apostasy could lead the a public execution. While I understand Saudi Arabia operates around a monarchy where the desire is to preserve a similar thought process nationally, sentencing people to death because of lesser offenses is unreasonable. Instead, I believe the Saudi government would benefit from implementing prison sentences for those who conspire against the government based on extremist ideas. Additionally, I believe the methods of which these individuals were executed is rather grotesque. Public executions, hangings, and crucifixion strike fear through out law abiding communities and ultimately leads to more secrecy. While I'm opposed to the idea of the US interjecting with the current situation, the US currently has a huge arms deal, signed by President Trump in May of 2017 (Source: https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/12/politics/trump-khashoggi-saudi-arabia-arms-deal-sanctions/index.html ) that has an estimated $350 billion in revenue over the next 10 years. Therefore, I believe it should be a concern for Congress whether or not to set up more relations in the future.
I think that they are most likely targeting another religion different than theirs, but could potentially be giving true results. It is hard to determine whether or not torture was used to extract information. It appears that they are not fairly executing as the majority of those who were executed were Shia Muslims. I don't think that the U.S. should interfere as the Middle East has different culture than us and could possibly ruin relations unless there is certain proof that human rights violations are happening.
ReplyDeleteConsidering the country’s laws I think it’s fair to kill off people with terrorist ideals. But, for a country such as the United States, I don’t think it is fair to kill someone for their ideologies. Saudi Arabia can do whatever they want but, in my opinion, I don’t think it’s right for them to kill or accuse the witnesses that quickly. If it happens that Saudi Arabia finds sufficient evidence fast, then I understand that they give the death penalty fast. But, I beg the question, why the death penalty? Why not a less harsher punishment such as life in prison. In addition, I think the US and other nations should take a look at Saudi Arabia’s care of these people.
ReplyDeleteThese trials are eliminating people with terrorist ideas. As stated in the original CNN article, many of those accused are "charged with killing security officials with explosives." However, it is unclear whether these trials are fair because it is claimed that confessions are tortured out of those who are accused. Saudi Arabia's executions are justified in that they act as a solution to deter terrorism, a complex problem rampant in the Middle East. The frequency of the executions may not be right. According to Amnesty International, Abdulkareem al-Hawaj, a man who was arrested at the early age of 16, is one of those being executed (https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2019/04/saudi-arabia-37-put-to-death-in-shocking-execution-spree/). Saudi Arabia should more carefully consider who should be executed and if there are any alternative ways to punish people less severely but still deal with crime. Still, the US should not interfere with Saudi Arabia's decisions because it is another country's problem and foreign relations might be hurt.
ReplyDeleteI believe that Saudi Arabia should not be giving the death penalty so freely, and are not just fairly eliminating people with terrorist ideas. Although I think it is good to try to put strict consequences for terrorism in order to try to end it, I think that they are issuing punishments too quickly and possibly a little bit too harshly. The men who were executed were not given fair trials, and should not have been executed so quickly with only convicting mainly based on statements possibly gotten out of the men through torture. Also, some of the crimes they are being punished for are not that extreme, and should receive less severe punishments. Despite being violent, they were not really harming too many. (https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2017/07/fourteen-men-at-imminent-risk-of-beheading-as-saudi-arabia-continues-bloody-execution-spree/) Death punishments should also not be given to such young people, as one of them executed was convicted when under 18. I believe that the government is being too harsh and brutal, and seem to be more threatening any kind of resistance to their rule.
ReplyDeleteThere’s a reason why the death penalty is a great controversy in both our country and the world. It’s hard to distinguish whether someone’s crime so threatening that they meed to be executed. A life for a crime will always be something that takes a lot of time to decide on and trial. For there to be such a frequent pattern of executions really does to show that there is some sort or careless and ruthless behavior as the motives rather than any political reason. I think that this os overall really unfair treatment based on these facts and many deaths over “terrorism.”
ReplyDeleteI remain neutral in whether these trials are fair or not. I believe that there must be a reason that the government is punishing or convicting these people of crimes, but the their methods in doing so are questionable, and we don’t know if the government is telling the truth or not as its entirely possible that it’s just all a ploy to keep the Saudi Arabian citizens under control. However, if the laws in Saudi Arabia are set this way, I find the actions of the Saudi Arabian government reasonable no matter how harsh they may be as people must abide to the laws in a country or there will be no order. This is related to Singapore and it’s laws, which are so very often criticized for how extremely strict they are. For the Saudi Arabian government to execute people frequently, I think it is justifiable if the government is truthful and fair in their justice, and that those who were executed were actually convicted of a crime against the law worth a death penalty or even worse. Lastly, I do not think the US should interfere at all, as they have so often interfered into so many other country’s businesses and should leave Saudi Arabia alone.
ReplyDeleteTargeting any religion to me is absolutely unacceptable and automatic creates a human rights issue. I feel that the Saudi Arabian Government is trying to cover the fact they're killing people because of religion. With this being said I feel that some outside countries should intervene. We also have to consider that this is coming from the Saudi Crown Prince who has shown that he is untrustworthy. The death penalty should be a last resort, but Saudi Arabia uses it as if its almost always an option which I think is completely unacceptable. In order to end a persons life there needs to be solid, concrete evidence that should be available to the media to make sure that it is right. It would be ideal if the U.S. intervened but it's practically impossible because it would mean no more oil for the U.S. and would make the U.S. look bad since the government has declared them traitors, etc.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the Saudi Arabian government is targeting racial groups under the mask of eliminating terrorism. It is highly suspicious that many of the people being executed have opposite ideas from the government. This appears to be another case where a government tries to secretly control their populace with threats and acts of violence. The death penalty is a very controversial topic and whether someone is for or against it, it's very unreasonable the rates in which people in Saudi Arabia are being executed. I strongly believe that the international community should take actions against the atrocities happening in Saudi Arabia. The US has the power and influence to make change and help the victims in Saudi Arabia.
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