Saudi Arabia scrapped the death penalty for people who committed crimes as minors and curbed its controversial practice of floggings.
The kingdom, which has embarked on a broad economic and social reform program under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has long been criticized by international groups for its human rights record and criminal punishments.
The changes were passed by royal decree and a supreme court decision, according to statements on the website of the government’s Human Rights Commission.
The death penalty of minors will be commuted to sentences of up to 10 years in a juvenile detention facility, the commission said. Flogging sentences will be commuted to fines or prison sentences, a second statement said.
It wasn’t clear whether flogging would be eliminated entirely. Abdulrahman Al Lahim, a prominent Saudi lawyer, wrote on Twitter that the punishment has been eliminated as a discretionary penalty. The could preserve the use of flogging for so-called “hadd” crimes such as sex out of wedlock, which orthodox clerics say must be punished by flogging according to the Quran.
It’s unclear how common such cases are. The Human Rights Commission said the decision would “effectively eliminate flogging.”
Saudi Arabia aims to establish “a more modern penal code,” and “more reforms will be coming,” the commission’s president, Awwad Alawwad, said.
Credit- Bloomberg
The death penalty of minors will be commuted to sentences of up to 10 years in a juvenile detention facility, the commission said. Flogging sentences will be commuted to fines or prison sentences, a second statement said.
It wasn’t clear whether flogging would be eliminated entirely. Abdulrahman Al Lahim, a prominent Saudi lawyer, wrote on Twitter that the punishment has been eliminated as a discretionary penalty. The could preserve the use of flogging for so-called “hadd” crimes such as sex out of wedlock, which orthodox clerics say must be punished by flogging according to the Quran.
It’s unclear how common such cases are. The Human Rights Commission said the decision would “effectively eliminate flogging.”
Saudi Arabia aims to establish “a more modern penal code,” and “more reforms will be coming,” the commission’s president, Awwad Alawwad, said.
Comments
Post a Comment