Saudi Arabia has reportedly executed 81 people in a single day for terrorist offences and holding "defiant beliefs". According to Al Jazeera, the news site, the number dwarfed the 67 executions reported in the kingdom last year and 27 in 2020.
Offences ranged from joining militant groups to holding “deviant beliefs”, the kingdom’s interior ministry is quoted as saying in a statement. The Independent news site said: "The mass execution is likely to bring back attention to Saudi Arabia's human rights record at a time when world powers have been focused on Russia's invasion of Ukraine."
CNN, referencing Reuters, the news agency, and Saudi Arabia's interior ministry, said of the executions on Saturday: "These individuals, totalling 81, 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 (Islamic State), al Qaeda and the Houthis." The ministry did not say how the executions were carried out.
