SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
John Kerry Arrives in Saudi Arabia Amidst Unprecedented Rise in State Executions
The kingdom has been criticized for state executions for sorcery, drug smuggling, adultery, apostasy, and same-sex intercourse
Mar 05, 2015
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Saudi Arabia coincides with a recent surge of executions in that country.
So far this year, at least 39 people have reportedly been put to death by authorities.
Amnesty International's researcher on Saudi Arabia, Sevag Kechichian, told The Independent, "Since the beginning of the year we've seen an unprecedented rate of executions in the country."
"Despite claims sometimes made by the authorities about carrying out executions to deter terrorism and other violence in the kingdom, almost half of this year's executions have actually been for non-violent drugs-related offenses," said Kechician. "There's no real rhyme or reason for this upsurge in executions, and in a way this makes it all the more alarming."
The Saudi regime has been criticized for state executions--often by beheading and stoning--for sorcery, drug smuggling, adultery, apostasy, and same-sex intercourse. According to the Death Penalty database, maintained by Cornell University Law School, the country has a high rate of executions, with at least 87 people put to death in 2014.
Despite the widespread criticism from human rights groups and others, U.S. officials have remained largely silent about the executions and other human rights abuses inflicted by the Saudi government--one of the U.S.'s most long-standing allies in the Middle East.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Saudi Arabia coincides with a recent surge of executions in that country.
So far this year, at least 39 people have reportedly been put to death by authorities.
Amnesty International's researcher on Saudi Arabia, Sevag Kechichian, told The Independent, "Since the beginning of the year we've seen an unprecedented rate of executions in the country."
"Despite claims sometimes made by the authorities about carrying out executions to deter terrorism and other violence in the kingdom, almost half of this year's executions have actually been for non-violent drugs-related offenses," said Kechician. "There's no real rhyme or reason for this upsurge in executions, and in a way this makes it all the more alarming."
The Saudi regime has been criticized for state executions--often by beheading and stoning--for sorcery, drug smuggling, adultery, apostasy, and same-sex intercourse. According to the Death Penalty database, maintained by Cornell University Law School, the country has a high rate of executions, with at least 87 people put to death in 2014.
Despite the widespread criticism from human rights groups and others, U.S. officials have remained largely silent about the executions and other human rights abuses inflicted by the Saudi government--one of the U.S.'s most long-standing allies in the Middle East.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's visit to Saudi Arabia coincides with a recent surge of executions in that country.
So far this year, at least 39 people have reportedly been put to death by authorities.
Amnesty International's researcher on Saudi Arabia, Sevag Kechichian, told The Independent, "Since the beginning of the year we've seen an unprecedented rate of executions in the country."
"Despite claims sometimes made by the authorities about carrying out executions to deter terrorism and other violence in the kingdom, almost half of this year's executions have actually been for non-violent drugs-related offenses," said Kechician. "There's no real rhyme or reason for this upsurge in executions, and in a way this makes it all the more alarming."
The Saudi regime has been criticized for state executions--often by beheading and stoning--for sorcery, drug smuggling, adultery, apostasy, and same-sex intercourse. According to the Death Penalty database, maintained by Cornell University Law School, the country has a high rate of executions, with at least 87 people put to death in 2014.
Despite the widespread criticism from human rights groups and others, U.S. officials have remained largely silent about the executions and other human rights abuses inflicted by the Saudi government--one of the U.S.'s most long-standing allies in the Middle East.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.