Source: BBC

An artist sentenced to death for apostasy. Three young Shia Muslims – arrested when they were minors – faced with beheading. And reports in the Saudi press of the imminent execution of more than 50 people.

Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty has sparked international alarm.

The country’s human rights record has been back in the news since January, when liberal blogger Raif Badawi was flogged after being convicted of insulting Islam.

That same month, disturbing video emerged of a Burmese woman accused of murder screaming: “I did not kill” until the moment her head was severed with a sword on a Saudi street.

So far this year, more than 150 people have been executed – the highest figure recorded by human rights groups for 20 years.

Dozens of them were convicted of non-violent crimes, including drug offences. Human rights activists say many of the trials were unfair.

Lack of transparency

Amnesty International has described “an unprecedented wave of executions marking a grim new milestone in the Saudi Arabian authorities’ use of the death penalty”.

So what is behind the rise of executions? A lack of transparency in the Saudi legal system makes it difficult to know.

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“There’s a lot of speculation,” says Adam Coogle, who monitors Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty, for Human Rights Watch. “But nobody knows the real answer because the Saudis haven’t said, and they won’t say.”

This year has been an eventful one for Saudi Arabia. In January, King Salmansucceeded his more liberal brother, King Abdullah, ushering in a new, more muscular foreign policy.

In March, the Saudis began a bombing campaign in Yemen against Houthi rebelsin which thousands of civilians have been killed. And the Hajj stampede put the country under an uncomfortable spotlight.

Sunni extremism has remained a constant threat, with the Islamic State (IS) group or its affiliates killing at least 50 people in the Shia east and south of the country.

But the increase in the rate of executions actually began back in August 2014, according to human rights activists.

“Nearly all of those executed are sentenced on murder or drugs charges, and it’s possible that the crime rate is going up, with more murders and more people bringing drugs into the country,” says Mr Coogle.

Appearing tough

Another theory is linked to Saudi Arabia’s restructuring, over the past few years, of its justice system.

“It could be that, with the increase in the number of courts and judges, the system has the capacity to address a backlog of cases,” Mr Coogle says.

A third theory is that it is part of a trend in the whole region towards more executions, with a steep increase in the use of the death penalty in Pakistan, and Jordan ending a moratorium on executions last December.

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