Saudi Arabia Sets Record For Highest Death Penalty In 2024

Court illustration (ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Saudi Arabia set a record high in the execution of the death penalty in 2024. A total of three death sentences were carried out by the Gulf state on Saturday, September 28, bringing the number of executions this year to 198 people.

According to Amnesty International, as reported by ANTARA, Sunday, September 29, the bay empire executed the world's third most prisoners after China and Iran in 2023.

The latest number surpassed the previous highs of 196 in 2022 and 192 in 1995. This is based on the records of the London-centric human rights group, which began counting in 1990.

The official Saudi news agency (SPA) announced three recent executions, citing a statement from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Amnesty accused the Saudi authorities of non-stop serial killings. The human rights group confirmed its own tally of 198 executions in the Gulf monarchy this year.

The oil-rich kingdom has faced criticism for the use of the death penalty, which human rights groups condemn as excessive and inconsistent with Saudi efforts to display modern imagery on the international stage.

Amnesty's Secretary-General, Agnes Callamard, said Riyadh showed a terrible waiver of human life while promoting a campaign to change their image.

He urged Saudi Arabia to immediately establish a moratorium on executions and order a retrial for those sentenced to death in accordance with international standards without using the death penalty.

Those sentenced to death this year include 32 people who were convicted of terrorism-related offenses. Then as many as 52 people were found guilty of drug-related offenses.

Amnesty International's previous record in 2022 of 196 executions was revealed in a letter from the Saudi human rights commission. AFP calculated that there were 147 executions that year.

Although the figure before 1990 was unclear, the Washington Post reported that 63 people were executed in 1980 after militia groups stormed the holiest place for Muslims, the Grand Mosque in Makkah in the previous year.

Saudi Arabia's largest mass execution took place in March 2022, when 81 people were sentenced to death in one day.

Riyadh previously said that the death penalty was necessary to maintain public order. The punishment is only carried out if the defendants have completed all levels of litigation.