United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet condemns Saudi Arabia’s execution of a record 81 people in one single day.
Written by News Room on March 16, 2022
The United Nations human rights chief, Michelle Bachelet has condemned Saudi Arabia’s execution of a record 81 people in a single day, and urged the kingdom to stop using the death penalty.
Bachelet said war crimes may have been committed if people were beheaded following court cases that do not offer proper fair trial guarantees.
Saudi Arabia said Saturday it had executed a record 81 people in one day for terrorism-related offences, exceeding the total number killed in the whole of 2021 and sparking criticism from rights activists.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that among those beheaded, 41 belonged to the Shiite minority, and had taken part in anti-government protests in 2011-2012. A further seven were Yemenis and one was a Syrian national.
The former Chilean president said the Saudi authorities should return the bodies of those executed to their families.
Amen J Kantiyok
