Saudi Arabia executes five Yemenis, displays bodies in public
 |
| Saudi Arabia Executes and Crucifies Five Yemeni Men Image Credit: Twitter/@sahaer_ksa |
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has executed five Yemenis convicted of crimes and displayed their bodies in public as a deterrent for future criminals.
The Interior Ministry says the five were convicted of setting up a gang that carried out several crimes, including the murder of a Saudi man. They were executed on Tuesday and their bodies were put on display at a square in the southern city of Jazan.
The interior ministry said the five men - identified by the ministry as Khaled, Adel and Qasim Saraa, Saif Ali Al Sahari and Khaled Showie Al Sahari - also robbed shops after forming a gang.
It is unclear if the men were beheaded or shot as punishment for their crimes.
Following their execution, the bodies of the five men were hung on a horizontal bar between two cranes, with ropes tied to their waists. A witness who spoke to AFP said the bodies were hung near a university.
The ministry says the court ordered the bodies displayed because the crimes "indicate that evil and corruption persist" and that the Yemenis had no respect for "sanctities and the blood of others."
Photograph of the hanging has since been posted on Twitter, showing the five bodies on the bar and the large crowd which gathered to watch the ceremony.
The BBC claims executed bodies are left hanging when crimes are seen as particularly grave.
In March, Saudi Arabia publicly executed seven men for robbery despite an appeal by United Nations human rights investigators to spare their lives. The men who were executed also failed to secure a pardon from King Abdullah and were executed by a firing squad in the city of Abha.
Only days after the execution of the seven men, Saudi Arabia beheaded and crucified Mohammed Rashad Khairi Hussain, a Yemeni national, in Jizan for sodomising and murdering Pakistani national Pashteh Sayed Khan. Hussain was also convicted of other charges, including robbery.
The total number of executions in Saudi Arabia, this year alone, has now reached 46 according to an AFP tally. Last year, the total number of people executed by Saudi Arabia stood at 76 according to AFP figures.
The kingdom follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed, mostly by the sword or a firing squad.
The Interior Ministry says the five were convicted of setting up a gang that carried out several crimes, including the murder of a Saudi man. They were executed on Tuesday and their bodies were put on display at a square in the southern city of Jazan.
The interior ministry said the five men - identified by the ministry as Khaled, Adel and Qasim Saraa, Saif Ali Al Sahari and Khaled Showie Al Sahari - also robbed shops after forming a gang.
It is unclear if the men were beheaded or shot as punishment for their crimes.
Following their execution, the bodies of the five men were hung on a horizontal bar between two cranes, with ropes tied to their waists. A witness who spoke to AFP said the bodies were hung near a university.
The ministry says the court ordered the bodies displayed because the crimes "indicate that evil and corruption persist" and that the Yemenis had no respect for "sanctities and the blood of others."
Photograph of the hanging has since been posted on Twitter, showing the five bodies on the bar and the large crowd which gathered to watch the ceremony.The BBC claims executed bodies are left hanging when crimes are seen as particularly grave.
In March, Saudi Arabia publicly executed seven men for robbery despite an appeal by United Nations human rights investigators to spare their lives. The men who were executed also failed to secure a pardon from King Abdullah and were executed by a firing squad in the city of Abha.
Only days after the execution of the seven men, Saudi Arabia beheaded and crucified Mohammed Rashad Khairi Hussain, a Yemeni national, in Jizan for sodomising and murdering Pakistani national Pashteh Sayed Khan. Hussain was also convicted of other charges, including robbery.
The total number of executions in Saudi Arabia, this year alone, has now reached 46 according to an AFP tally. Last year, the total number of people executed by Saudi Arabia stood at 76 according to AFP figures.
The kingdom follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed, mostly by the sword or a firing squad.
Courtesy: NDTV Ltd and International Business Times
