Saudi Arabia executes two soldiers on treason charges: Report
Saudi Arabia
The Defence Ministry of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA)executed two military personnelaccused of committing treason, local media reports stated on Thursday (September 14).
Both military officers, a pilot and a sergeant major, had been under custody since 2017 and sentenced todeath on charges of treason and not protecting the national interest and military honour.
The state agency reports did not elaborate on what the two allegedly did, other than accuse them of having “committed a number of major military crimes” during the war. The last time soldiers were executed in the West Asian country was in April 2021, when three were put to death.
Notably, the kingdom hadbeen involved in Yemen where it was fighting theIran-aligned Houthi group since 2015. While the fighting has largely stopped, Riyadh is unable to fully separateitself from the conflict, which has been the cause of death for tens of thousands.
On the same day as the executions, the kingdom said it was hosting a delegation of Yemen's Houthi rebels for talks on ending the long, drawn-out war.
The conflict started in September 2014when the Houthis overran the capital Sanaa, forcing Saudi Arabia tolaunch their offensive the following March.
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WATCH |Largest mass execution in recent memory: Saudi Arabia executes 81 men in one day
Kingdom and increased instances of executions
The kingdom has been infamous for its heavy-handedness in dealing with crime, treason and terrorism charges. Despite Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's attempts to showcase a liberal side of Saudi Arabia to the world, the kingdom's capital punishment record paints a different picture. Ever since taking over the reins in 2015, more than 1,000 death sentences have been implemented under his regime.
The death penalty is permitted in Saudi Arabia for crimes such as rape, murder, sedition, sorcery and drug trafficking. Last year in March, Saudi invited international attention after it executed 81 men in a single day for ‘multiple heinous crimes’, including terrorism.
According to Amnesty International, since the beginning of the year, a total of 100people have been executed in the country. Consequently, Saudi Arabia stands fifth in the world in terms of the highest number of executions. The other four are China, Iran, Egypt and Iraq.
(With inputs from agencies)
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