On 17 March, ADHRB has delivered an oral intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 52 under item 3 during the General debate. ADHRB raises the use of Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia at the Human Rights Council.
Mr. President, We strongly condemn and denounce Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty without deterrence, particularly for non-violent crimes. With 147 executions in 2022, including 81 people who were killed in a mass execution, and 7 already in early March 2023, it is clear that this year will witness more extrajudicial executions lacking in transparency. 170 countries have abolished or imposed a moratorium on the death penalty but Saudi Arabia has retained capital punishment and exponentially increased its numbers of executed individuals since 2015. We are alarmed by reports of two Bahraini prisoners in Saudi Arabia, Sadeq Thamer and Jaafar Sultan, who face execution after exhausting all legal remedies It is important to point out the suffering of executed individuals’ families and those on death row. The constant anxiety and fear of their loved ones being executed without any notice or information regarding burial arrangements is unimaginable. In light of these alarming facts, ADHRB call on the Council and member states to exert its utmost pressure on Saudi authorities to establish a moratorium on death sentences, with the intention of abolishing this inhumane punitive measure. Authorities should also return the bodies of individuals they have executed to their families for burial. Thank you.
