The death penalty has been abolished by Saudi Arabia for those convicted of crimes committed when they were minors, said Awad Al-Awad, head of the human rights commission, a government agency, on Sunday April 26. , citing a royal decree.

This declaration comes a few days after the announcement of the abolition of flogging, another punishment criticized by NGOs.

Up to 10 years in prison in a juvenile detention center

The ultra-conservative kingdom is regularly accused by international NGOs of human rights violations. A prison sentence not exceeding ten years in a juvenile detention center will replace the death penalty, he said.

This decree should spare at least six men from the Shiite Muslim community, a minority in the Sunni kingdom, sentenced to death for participating in anti-government protests when they were under the age of 18.

"This is an important day for Saudi Arabia," said Awad Al-Awad. "This decree helps us establish a more modern penal code."

184 people executed in 2019

In a report on the death penalty worldwide this week, Amnesty International said that "Saudi Arabia executed a record number of people in 2019, despite a general drop in executions worldwide."

"The Saudi authorities killed 184 people last year, the highest number Amnesty has ever recorded in a single year in the country," she said.

Homicide, rape, armed robbery, drug trafficking, armed robbery, witchcraft, adultery, sodomy, homosexuality and apostasy are punishable by death in the kingdom , which follows a rigorous version of Islam.

Suppression of flogging as a potential penalty

Already on Friday, the Human Rights Commission announced that the Supreme Court had decided "to eliminate flogging as a potential penalty".

Since Mohammed bin Salman became crown prince in 2017, Saudi Arabia has been singled out for criticism by human rights organizations.

Indeed, the economic and social openness promoted by Prince Mohammed was accompanied by increased repression against discordant voices, within the royal family as well as among intellectuals and militants.

His image as a reformer was greatly tarnished by the murder of the Saudi journalist and government critic, Jamal Khashoggi, who was assassinated at his country's consulate in Istanbul in 2018. A crime that caused an international outcry.

With AFP

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