By Justin Dorman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Recently, Saudi Arabia has been under a lot of heat for the amount of people it has been executing under capital punishment. The most common method used in Saudi Arabia for executions has been that of beheading by swordsmen. Saudi Arabian authorities finally seem ready to retire the traditional Sharia technique.

The beheading of Rizana Nafeek, seen above, took place this past January. (Photo Courtesy of the Global Dispatch)

Those beheaded last year were convicted for the capital crimes of armed robbery, drug smuggling, murder, rape, sorcery, and witchcraft. International human rights group, Amnesty International, opposes the administration of death sentences for the commission of any crime.

Those still contemplating committing witchcraft anytime soon should know that they will still be executed for a capital crime. Instead of being killed by a beheading, a sorcerer will be executed by firing squad.

The switch has nothing to do with the Saudis seeing beheadings as antiquated. The real reason why the ministerial committee of the interior has decided to potentially cease beheadings is because there is a shortage of swordsmen. Swordsmen are largely unavailable in a number of areas in Saudi Arabia. This shortage leads to swordsmen needing to often travel great distances in order to perform executions. When such travels are necessary, executions are often delayed. They are simply impractical.

Saudi Arabia is currently the only country which still beheads criminals in public by sword. Executions by beheading has always been seen as the proper technique under the Koran to punish a person who committed a capital offense since medieval times. Death by the gunfire of a firing squad has also been deemed to be consistent with Sharia law. Though they have been more uncommon, such executions have occurred before and are not considered to be a religious violation.

The manner in which an individual, sentenced by a judge to death, will be killed will ultimately come down to the discretion of a local governor or prince. So far seventeen individuals have been executed this year. At least fifteen of those seventeen were beheaded. The seventeen people already killed this year represent a great increase in the rate of individuals executed, after just eighty individuals were killed a year for the past two years.

For further information, please see:

Arabian Business – Saudi Could Replace Beheading with Firing Squad – 11 March 2013

Guardian – Saudi Shortage of Swordsmen Prompts Approval of Executions by Firing Squad – 11 March 2013

New York Times – Saudis Consider Firing Squads for Executions – 10 March 2013

Global Dispatch – Amnesty International Calls for Saudi Arabia to Stop Beheading ‘Nearly two People a Week’ – 12 February 2013

Author: Impunity Watch Archive