Ever since 32-year-old prince Mohammed Bin Salman has been crowned, Saudis (and the rest of the world) have had hopes for the kingdom. The prince has been doing some serious social reforms, such as rescinding the ban on women driving and allowing movie theaters to operate.
However, there have been some doubts that he has no intentions to change the old school method of the death penalty.
Saudi Arabia is one of the top countries that execute the death punishment in the world, coming in third place right after China and Iran — with more than 2,000 people executed between the years 1985 and 2016. According to the UK human rights group Reprieve, 137 people were executed in Saudi Arabia this year.
According to Islamic law, known as shari’a in Arabic, the death penalty is a punishment for violent offenses such as murder or leaving the faith. However, Saudi Arabia has been performing the death penalty in non-violent law breaches such as the case of Mujtaba Al-Sweikat.
Al-Sweikat was only 17 when he was detained at King Fahd International Airport in the city of Dammam in 2012. Just when he was about to fly to Western Michigan University to study English and Finance, he got arrested and never attended university, only for expressing beliefs in public protests. He was later tortured which was followed by a death sentence for being held responsible for an anti-government Facebook page.
There are plenty of other people out there waiting for their turns, even though their crimes do not deserve to be punished by death. Many countries worldwide have actually abolished the act, more than two-thirds of the countries to be more precise. Around 57 countries are still clinging on this practice though, including other Arab countries such as Egypt and Iraq.