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Saudi Arabia removes the death penalty sentence for those convicted of crimes committed under the age of 18 , as reported on Monday by the Saudi government's Human Rights Commission.

The commission celebrated in a statement released on its Twitter account the approval of the royal decree that ends the application of capital punishment for minors, who, from now on in case of committing a crime, will be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison in a juvenile detention center.

"This decree helps us establish a more modern penal system and demonstrates the kingdom's commitment to pursue key reforms in all sectors of our country as part of (the Transformation Program) Vision 2030, directly overseen by Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman, "said the chairman of the government commission, Awwad Alawwad .

The decision is added to another to suspend the flogging as punishment for those convicted of crimes.

The announcement comes after the Right Livelihood Award Foundation on Friday announced the death of Saudi activist Abdullah al-Hamid, who was awarded the alternative Nobel Prize in 2018, after spending months in a hospital where he was taken after being imprisoned since 2013.

The foundation that awards this award to human rights defenders around the world blamed the Saudi authorities for the death of Al Hamid for "deliberately denying him" access to medical treatment during months in which he was imprisoned.

According to the latest report by the organization Amnesty International (AI), Saudi Arabia is the third country in the world in number of executions, which last year grew by 23% to 184.

Alawwad announced that "more reforms will come" to improve the quality of life of Saudi citizens "under the leadership" of King Salman bin Abdelaziz and Prince Bin Salman.

Saudi Arabia, under the de facto mandate of the controversial crown prince, is carrying out a series of reforms under the Kingdom's 2030 Vision to modernize the country. In recent months, there have been advances in the recognition of rights especially for women , although abuses and arrests of human rights activists continue.

The most notorious scandal in the area of ​​fundamental rights was the famous murder of the Saudi critical journalist Jamal Khashoggi in October 2018 and for which the UN directly blamed Bin Salman.

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Middle EastSaudi Arabia removes lashes hours after death in prison of a well-known human rights activist