Saudi Arabia has often been criticised by human rights groups and many governments for what they consider harsh and arbitrary punishments for crimes. There are many draconian laws in the country. Saudi Arabia has a strict Islamic legal code under which murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy (the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief or principle) are all punishable by death. Today a rare event melted the Social Media networks, with some Saudis saying they never imagined such a thing would happen. Many Saudis have commented that it showed the quality of their justice system, which follows a strict interpretation of Shariah law. “The greatest thing is that the citizen sees the law applied to everyone, and that there are not big people and other small people,” Abdul-Rahman al-Lahim, a prominent Saudi lawyer, wrote on Twitter.
Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir put to death in Riyadh over fatal gunfight at desert camp in 2014
Prince Turki bin Saud bin Turki bin Saud al-Kabeer was put to death in the capital, Riyadh, according to a report by the Saudi state news service. According to Saudi reports, Prince Turki shot Adel al-Mahemid, a Saudi, during a brawl in “a group fight” while another person was injured in an exchange of gunfire following a dispute at a camp on the edge of Riyadh in December 2012. This is the first time in 40 years that such a decision was executed. Usually the death sentence is carried out by beheading by sword in front of the people, but the method used in the death penalty of the Saudi Prince has not been disclosed to the media. It was unclear how many people watched the execution of Prince Turki on Tuesday or what their immediate reaction was. Tuesday’s execution was the first time that a member of the royal family had been put to death for murder by the state since 1975, when Prince Faisal bin Musaid was beheaded in Riyadh for assassinating King Faisal.
134 Executed so far since January 2016
The prince is the 134th person to be put to death this year, according to a tally compiled by the AFP news agency. Most people executed in Saudi Arabia are convicted for murder and drug trafficking, although nearly 50 people convicted of terrorism offences were put to death on a single day in January, among them the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
No “Blood Money” needed
The victim’s family refused offers of “blood money” by which they would receive financial compensation in return for not demanding the death sentence, Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya network reported.
