Saudi Arabia executions: will Boris Johnson visit after mass execution of 81 - country’s human rights record

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will visit Saudi Arabia in a bid to “wean” the West off its dependency on Russian energy, days after the country carried out a mass execution of 81 individuals.

Despite calls to cancel his trip, Johnson will push forward with the visit, having arrived at his first stop in Abu Dhabi. He will later meet Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in Riyadh.

This is everything you need to know.

What was the mass execution that happened recently?

On Saturday (12 March), a mass execution of 81 individuals, of both Saudi and non-Saudi citizens, was carried out.

It was announced by the Ministry of Interior that the 81 people executed had all been convicted of a wide range of offences, including “terrorism” related crimes, murder, armed robbery and arms smuggling.

A number of those who were executed were also convicted of charges such as “disrupting the social fabric and national cohesion” and “participating in and inciting sit-ins and protests”.

The state-run Saudi Press Agency said that those included in the mass execution included individuals “convicted of various crimes, including the murdering of innocent men, women and children”.

Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “This execution spree is all the more chilling in light of Saudi Arabia’s deeply flawed justice system, which metes out death sentences following trials that are grossly and blatantly unfair, including basing verdicts on “confessions” extracted under torture or other ill-treatment.

“Such a shocking number of deaths also reveals Saudi Arabia’s lack of transparency in death penalty cases since we know that the number of trials resulting in prisoners being placed on death row is always significantly higher than what is publicly reported.

“Many individuals today in Saudi Arabia are at imminent risk of execution.”

Two other mass executions have been carried out in recent years in Saudi Arabia - in 2019, 37 people were executed, and in 2016, 47 were also executed.

How many people have been executed in Saudi Arabia?

Following the mass execution of 81 people on Saturday, the number of executions in the country has been brought up to 92 so far in 2022 alone.

According to reports by the human rights groups European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) and Reprieve, Saudi Arabia carried out its 800th execution since 2015 on 8 April 2020. At the time, Reprieve said that the rate of executions had doubled under the rule of Crown Prince Mo Salman bin Abdulaziz.

The Death Penalty Information Centre has recorded the following number of confirmed executions in Saudi Arabia over the past few years:

• 184 confirmed executions in 2019
• 149 confirmed executions in 2018
• 146+ confirmed executions in 2017
• 154+ confirmed executions in 2016
• 158+ confirmed executions in 2015
• 90+ confirmed executions in 2014
• 79+ confirmed executions in 2013
• 79+ confirmed executions in 2012
• 82+ confirmed executions in 2011
• 27+ confirmed executions in 2010
• 69+ confirmed executions in 2009
• 102 confirmed executions in 2008
• 143 confirmed executions in 2007

Why has Boris Johnson gone to Saudi Arabia?

Johnson travelled to Saudi Arabia as part of an effort to end the West’s “addiction” to Russian fuel in response to the war in Ukraine.

The Prime Minister declared Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates “key international partners” in efforts to reduce dependence on Russian energy after the invasion of Ukraine.

Johnson faced calls to cancel his Saudi Arabia visit following the mass execution of 81 people, which left the UK Government “shocked”.

Tory former minister Crispin Blunt urged Johnson to make clear Britain’s concerns to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calling the executions a “new low for human rights” in the kingdom.

Amnesty International UK warned that Saudi Arabia has become “increasingly repressive” under Prince Salman.

Polly Truscott, the organisation’s foreign affairs human rights adviser, added: “The key point is that Saudi oil shouldn’t be allowed to buy the world’s silence over Saudi Arabia’s terrible human rights record.”

Mike Davis, the chief executive of the Global Witness human rights organisation, also said that Johnson is “absolutely right” to take action against Russia but said it “does not mean we should be subjected to the grotesque spectacle of the British Prime Minister cosying up to Mohammed bin Salman”.

Johnson insisted that forging closer ties with Saudi Arabia does not mean “we can’t stick to our principles” after he was accused of going from “dictator to dictator” to find new fuel sources.

Prior to the visit, Johnson’s official spokesperson said that he would raise the mass execution in Saudi Arabia with the crown prince.

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