Saudi Arabia has executed 37 men convicted of terror-related crimes, the kingdom’s official news agency said Tuesday.
One of the convicts was crucified, according to an interior ministry statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
“The death penalty was implemented on a number of criminals for adopting extremist terrorist ideologies and forming terrorist cells to corrupt and disrupt security as well as spreading chaos and provoking sectarian strife,” SPA said in a tweet.
The statement listed the names of the 37 Saudi nationals who were executed in various parts of the country. Saudi Arabia has one of the highest death penalty rates in the world.
It carried out one of its largest mass executions in January 2016 when 47 people were put to death, including prominent Shia leader Nimr al-Nimr. The executed prisoners were accused of terrorism and having extremist ideology.
Since Prince Mohammed bin Salman first emerged onto the kingdom’s political scene in 2015, he has overseen an intensified crackdown on dissent. He began his political career as defense minister and was elevated to Crown Prince in 2017.
In recent years, the Crown Prince has ordered the rounding up of scores of activists, high-profile clerics, analysts, businessmen and princes, as well as women’s rights defenders who were allegedly tortured and who authorities accuse of “suspicious contact” with foreign entities.
Credit: CNN
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