Saudi Arabia executed 81 people in one day for “terrorism” offences

Those convicted “are guilty of committing multiple heinous crimes” and were linked to the radical group “Islamic State, Al Qaeda, Yemen’s Houthi rebel forces and other terrorist organizations,” he added. Those executed had been planning attacks in the kingdom, including the deaths of “a large number” of civilians and members of the security forces, the SPA statement said. “They also include convictions for attacking government personnel and vital economic locations, killing security forces and mutilating their bodies, and planting landmines to attack police vehicles,” the agency said. Among the sentences are “crimes of kidnapping, torture, rape, smuggling of weapons and bombs into the kingdom,” he added. Among the 81 dead, there are 73 Saudis, seven Yemenis and one Syrian, according to the AFP news agency. This Gulf country is one of the most executed people in the world, even serving those sentences for beheading. Since the end of 2014, a series of attacks claimed by the radical islamic State (IS) group have been registered in Saudi Arabia. The Gulf country also leads a military coalition that has been fighting in Yemen since 2015 to support the government against Houthi rebels. The executions come a day after the release of Saudi blogger and humanitarian activist Raif Badawi, who had been sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes, accused of insulting Islam.However, Badawi, who received 50 lashes before they stopped punishment for global outcry, is barred from leaving Saudi Arabia for the next 10 years. In this way, Badawi will not be able to reunite with his wife Ensaf Haidar and their three children in Canada, where they fled after the arrest.  

Original source in Spanish