Saudi Arabia executes 7 in a day, highest since March 2022

Saudi Arabia announced the execution of seven people in a single day on February 29, marking the highest single-day tally since 81 people were put down in March 2022.

The Kingdom explained that the 7 people were linked to ‘creating and financing terrorist organisations and entities.’ A total of 29 confirmed executions have been carried out in the gulf state this year.

The individuals were convicted of disrupting the security and stability of society by “adopting a terrorist approach that calls for bloodshed, establishing and financing terrorist organisations and entities, and communicating and dealing with them,” as per a report from Saudi Arabia’s press agency.

The nationalities of those executed this week were not revealed in the report. However, NDTV reported their names and titles, indicating they were from Saudi Arabia.

Only China and Iran carried out more executions than Saudi Arabia in 2022, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.

In 2022, Saudi Arabia executed 81 people attracting global condemnation. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachele had sharp words for the Kingdom.

The executions did not conform to “international human rights and humanitarian law and may amount to a war crime,” Bachele said.

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