AFP plus additional input from News Desk |
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has executed four Pakistani men on charges of raping and murdering a woman in Riyadh on Thursday, according to the ministry of Interior of KSA, revealed the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The men were also found guilty of raping her teenage son.
Moreover, they were also convicted of stealing her jewelry and cash. According to SPA, after entering the house of a woman in Riyadh the men raped and strangled her. Those executed were named Sajid Asqar Ali, Liaqat Ishaq Hussein, Muhammad Thaqib Muhammad Al-Warith Ali, and Faisal Muneer Hussein.
Recently a bill to amend the Pakistani Constitution to allow public execution was introduced but seems unlikely to be passed.
Among the four men, two were convicted of raping the minor son of the victim. So far this year, KSA has executed 20 people according to AFP. In the preceding year, KSA had executed 141 people. It was the second largest number of executions per capita across the world after the Islamic Republic of Iran where more than 500 people were executed.
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In 2016, KSA had reported 153 people executed, which was also confirmed by Amnesty International. All executions are carried out by the sword. The topic of public executions has become quite popular in Pakistan recently after the rape and murder of 7-year-old Zainab in Kasur.
The head of the Council of Islamic Ideology also stated that he is against making this amendment to the country’s Constitution.
Many people are in favor of public executions in Pakistan thinking that it is the logical way to avoid more heinous crimes like this from happening in the future. On the other hand multiple people are of the belief that public execution is an archaic and barbaric tradition that will not solve the problem at hand and that education is the way to move forward.
Read more: Council of Islamic Ideology to review bill for public execution
Recently a bill to amend the Pakistani Constitution to allow public execution was introduced but seems unlikely to be passed. The head of the Council of Islamic Ideology also stated that he is against making this amendment to the country’s Constitution.
© Agence France-Presse