According to state media reports, 81 people were executed in one day in Saudi Arabia on terrorism charges. The official SPA news agency reported on Saturday that the convicts had connections to “Islamic State, al-Qaeda, the Houthis and other terrorist organizations”. Accordingly, they had planned attacks on important places and smuggled weapons into the country.
It is the highest number of executions ever reported in a single day in Saudi Arabia. In the whole of last year, 69 death sentences were carried out in the Gulf state. According to SPA, 73 of those executed were Saudi Arabian nationals, seven were Yemenis and one was Syrian. All 81 have been convicted of “multiple heinous crimes” by Saudi Arabian courts.
Saudi Arabia is leading a military coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. In recent months, there have been several attacks by the Houthi rebels in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has long been criticized for having one of the highest execution rates in the world and its opaque judicial system. Mohammed bin Salman al-Saud is the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.