Rate of executions in Saudi Arabia almost doubles under Mohammed bin Salman

Rate of executions in Saudi Arabia almost doubles under Mohammed bin Salman

The rate of executions carried out by Saudi Arabia has nearly doubled under the rule of the de-facto leader, Mohammed bin Salman, with the past six years being among the bloodiest in the Kingdom’s modern history, a new report has found.

Rates of capital punishment are at historically high levels, despite a push to modernise with widespread reforms and a semblance of individual liberties. Activist groups say the price of reforms has been high, with a total crackdown on the crown prince’s political opponents and zero tolerance for dissent.

Pledges by Prince Mohammed – who has consolidated extraordinary powers across the Kingdom’s business spheres, industrialists and elite families – to curb executions have not been kept, the new data shows, with each of the six years that he has led the country resulting in more state-sanctioned deaths than any other year in recent history.