العربية
Three Bahraini human rights organizations said that Saudi Arabia’s execution of 37 citizens, mostly Shiites, after unfair arbitrary mock trials and confessions extracted under torture, reflects the Saudi authorities’ disregard for the lives of dissidents and also reflects that violating the right to life has transformed into one of the most prominent means of intimidation and retaliation.
The organizations added that the victims of the mass executions carried out in six cities included three people who were minors when they were handed down death sentences because they took part in rallies against the Saudi authorities. The organizations noted that this action requires redoubling efforts to protect the prisoners of conscience, Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher from facing a similar fate.
The organizations pointed out that one of the execution victims is youth Abdulkarim al-Hawaj, who was arbitrarily arrested on January 16, 2014 and subjected to torture and threats to kill his family in order to force him to sign the confession paper, adding that the court relied on these forced confessions to condemn him on the pretext of participating in anti-government protests in the Eastern Province when he was 16 years old.
The human rights organizations called on international bodies not to be contented with verbal condemnations of the constant use of the death penalty in such a horrific and horrible manner in Saudi Arabia, calling for the appointment of a UN Special Rapporteur for Saudi Arabia to follow up the deteriorating human rights situation there.
The human rights organizations are:
Salam for Democracy and Human Rights
Bahrain Forum for Human Rights
Gulf Institute for Democracy and Human Rights