The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has executed 81 people in the space of 24 hours, in what is one of the largest uses of capital punishment in the Kingdom's modern history.
Most of the executed were accused by Saudi Arabian authorities of belonging to or supporting terrorist groups and holding 'deviant beliefs'.
In a statement, Saudi officials said:
"These individuals … were convicted of various crimes including murdering innocent men, women and children. Crimes committed by these individuals also include pledging allegiance to foreign terrorist organisations, such as ISIS [ISIL], al-Qaeda and the Houthis."
"The accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process. The kingdom will continue to take a strict and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies that threaten the stability of the entire world."
Among those killed were 7 Yemeni nationals and 1 Syrian national. 37 of the Saudi executed were all alleged to be part of one terrorist conspiracy to kill Saudi police officers and government agents.
Saudi Arabia has been widely criticised for its human rights record, and its restrictions on women and religious minorities.
In their 2021 human rights report on Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International said:
"Repression of the rights to freedom of expression, association and assembly intensified. Among those harassed, arbitrarily detained, prosecuted and/or jailed were government critics, women's rights activists, human rights defenders, relatives of activists, journalists, members of the Shi'a minority and online critics of government responses to the COVID-19 pandemic."
Continuing:
"Virtually all known Saudi Arabian human rights defenders inside the country were detained or imprisoned at the end of the year. Grossly unfair trials continued before the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) and other courts. Courts resorted extensively to the death penalty and people were executed for a wide range of crimes. Migrant workers were even more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of the pandemic, and thousands were arbitrarily detained in dire conditions, leading to an unknown number of deaths."
[Based on reporting by: Al Jazeera]
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