Five international cultural, legal institutions denounced recent mass executions in Saudi Arabia
The execution of young people in the cities of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province who participated in peaceful protests and demonstrations, at the same time of the terrorist acts of ISIL elements against the people, reinforces this suspicion that the Saudi rulers want to justify the death penalty for Shiite socio-political protesters as punishment for the criminal acts of terrorist groups.
In a statement, five international cultural and legal institutions denounced the recent mass execution in Saudi Arabia.
The statement is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Following the unprecedented Saudi government in mass execution of 81 civilians, including 41 youths and teenagers from the eastern region, which was officially announced in a statement issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry;
Based on the teachings of the divine religions, especially Islam’s emphasis on the sanctity of Muslim blood and human life;
As the international human rights instruments, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, emphasize the inherent dignity of all human family members and their equal and non-transferable rights, the commitment of UN member states to non-discrimination or discrimination in religion and belief, the right to life, liberty and security, the prohibition of punishment or cruel treatment, and the enjoyment of a fair, just and public trial by an independent and impartial tribunal, with all the guarantees necessary for self-defense as inalienable, indivisible and uninterpretable rights;
Recalling the obligation to follow the principles and rules of Islamic law in the field of Khums obligations and also the denial of oppression, emphasizing political rights and public freedoms within the framework of religious rules and norms that no one has the right to violate, but observing them is worshipping and merit, and violating them is sin, evil, and requires worldly and otherworldly punishment;
According to the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, which guarantees the right to life, the well-being of human beings in respect of their lives, religion, family, honor and property, a fair trial with all guarantees for the defense and rejection of arbitrary punishments as an inviolable human right and all Islamic countries are obliged to respect it;
According to the teachings of Islam on public responsibility, mutual patronage and solidarity, defending the rights of the oppressed, warning and forbidding the words and practices that tarnish the image of Islam and Muslim communities and countries in the eyes of the world;
The Islamic and legal institutions that issued the statement - which recently signed the “Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Cooperation on Human Rights and Human Dignity in the International arena” within the framework of Islamic human rights - while denouncing the Saudi government for violating the religious, legal, and customary standards of the Islamic Ummah and the contemporary world emphasize the following:
1. Mass executions, in this high number, in addition to conflicting with general legal principles, jurisprudential and moral principles, and international norm and practice, including in the field of human rights and citizenship, and deprive citizens of their rights and oppression, it is an unforgivable sin, presents a violent image of religion, jurisprudence and Islamic societies and countries to the contemporary world, which poses serious and stopping threats to the Islamic call, the building of Muslim civilization and the promotion of the word of God.
2. The stress of the statement of the Saudi Ministry of Interior that all or some of the executed people believed in the so-called “misleading ideas and other deviant schools” shows the will of the rulers of the country to kill and punish on the basis of belief rather than crime, and it contradicts the recent claims of the Saudi rulers on the religious equality of citizens, and shows the inconsistency of words and deeds and the application of double standards that are in conflict with the principles of human reason, divine law and contemporary law.
3. The execution of young people in the cities of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province who participated in peaceful protests and demonstrations, at the same time of the terrorist acts of ISIL elements against the people, reinforces this suspicion that the Saudi rulers want to justify the death penalty for Shiite socio-political protesters as punishment for the criminal acts of terrorist groups, in order to avoid responding to gross human rights violations under the pretext of prosecuting and punishing terrorists, and to normalize executions based on differences of opinion and religion.
4. This mass execution and similar incidents showed that there can be no guarantee of legal proceedings, equality before the law and fair trials in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the criminalization of citizens’ actions without reference to the law deprives the proving of the crime of its legal element, and leads to punishment without explanation of the charge, and the lack of uniformity in the issuance of sentences, and other serious consequences, of which the deprivation of public rights is one of the first consequences.
5. The trial of the accused, regardless of the political and social factors, which leads to the commission of a crime or participation in it or the like, is one of the matters that violate the justice and rights of individuals. Ignoring the roots of the thoughts and actions of takfiri and terrorist groups in the processes governing the country of Saudi Arabia, its aggression against Yemen and committing war crimes and genocide against the defenseless people of that country for more than seven years, exerting pressure and efforts to normalize relations with the Zionist regime, which has caused public outrage and hatred in the region and other cases, leave no choice for the citizens except protest. Therefore, the solution is to find the root and solve these problems in a principled way, and not to carry out mass executions.
Finally, the issuers of this statement reiterated the need for all countries to adhere to human dignity, legal and moral norms, fundamental rights, and avoidance of arbitrary punishments, and called on all countries, international and regional organizations, members of the Islamic Ummah and all the free people of the world, to condemn this criminal act and to work for global solidarity in the fight against oppression and the establishment of justice.
وَتَرَى الظَّالِمِينَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ يَقُولُونَ هَلْ إِلَىٰ مَرَدٍّ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ
صدق الله العلیّ العظیم
“You will see the wrongdoers, when they sight the punishment, saying, ‘Is there any way for a retreat?’”
God Almighty has spoken the truth
AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, The World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, Al-Mustafa (p.b.u.h) International University, Islamic Culture and Communication Organization, Human Rights Headquarters
The execution of young people in the cities of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province who participated in peaceful protests and demonstrations, at the same time of the terrorist acts of ISIL elements against the people, reinforces this suspicion that the Saudi rulers want to justify the death penalty for Shiite socio-political protesters as punishment for the criminal acts of terrorist groups.
In a statement, five international cultural and legal institutions denounced the recent mass execution in Saudi Arabia.
The statement is as follows:
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
Following the unprecedented Saudi government in mass execution of 81 civilians, including 41 youths and teenagers from the eastern region, which was officially announced in a statement issued by the Saudi Interior Ministry;
Based on the teachings of the divine religions, especially Islam’s emphasis on the sanctity of Muslim blood and human life;
As the international human rights instruments, in particular the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, emphasize the inherent dignity of all human family members and their equal and non-transferable rights, the commitment of UN member states to non-discrimination or discrimination in religion and belief, the right to life, liberty and security, the prohibition of punishment or cruel treatment, and the enjoyment of a fair, just and public trial by an independent and impartial tribunal, with all the guarantees necessary for self-defense as inalienable, indivisible and uninterpretable rights;
Recalling the obligation to follow the principles and rules of Islamic law in the field of Khums obligations and also the denial of oppression, emphasizing political rights and public freedoms within the framework of religious rules and norms that no one has the right to violate, but observing them is worshipping and merit, and violating them is sin, evil, and requires worldly and otherworldly punishment;
According to the Cairo Declaration of Human Rights in Islam, which guarantees the right to life, the well-being of human beings in respect of their lives, religion, family, honor and property, a fair trial with all guarantees for the defense and rejection of arbitrary punishments as an inviolable human right and all Islamic countries are obliged to respect it;
According to the teachings of Islam on public responsibility, mutual patronage and solidarity, defending the rights of the oppressed, warning and forbidding the words and practices that tarnish the image of Islam and Muslim communities and countries in the eyes of the world;
The Islamic and legal institutions that issued the statement - which recently signed the “Memorandum of Understanding on Joint Cooperation on Human Rights and Human Dignity in the International arena” within the framework of Islamic human rights - while denouncing the Saudi government for violating the religious, legal, and customary standards of the Islamic Ummah and the contemporary world emphasize the following:
1. Mass executions, in this high number, in addition to conflicting with general legal principles, jurisprudential and moral principles, and international norm and practice, including in the field of human rights and citizenship, and deprive citizens of their rights and oppression, it is an unforgivable sin, presents a violent image of religion, jurisprudence and Islamic societies and countries to the contemporary world, which poses serious and stopping threats to the Islamic call, the building of Muslim civilization and the promotion of the word of God.
2. The stress of the statement of the Saudi Ministry of Interior that all or some of the executed people believed in the so-called “misleading ideas and other deviant schools” shows the will of the rulers of the country to kill and punish on the basis of belief rather than crime, and it contradicts the recent claims of the Saudi rulers on the religious equality of citizens, and shows the inconsistency of words and deeds and the application of double standards that are in conflict with the principles of human reason, divine law and contemporary law.
3. The execution of young people in the cities of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province who participated in peaceful protests and demonstrations, at the same time of the terrorist acts of ISIL elements against the people, reinforces this suspicion that the Saudi rulers want to justify the death penalty for Shiite socio-political protesters as punishment for the criminal acts of terrorist groups, in order to avoid responding to gross human rights violations under the pretext of prosecuting and punishing terrorists, and to normalize executions based on differences of opinion and religion.
4. This mass execution and similar incidents showed that there can be no guarantee of legal proceedings, equality before the law and fair trials in Saudi Arabia. In addition, the criminalization of citizens’ actions without reference to the law deprives the proving of the crime of its legal element, and leads to punishment without explanation of the charge, and the lack of uniformity in the issuance of sentences, and other serious consequences, of which the deprivation of public rights is one of the first consequences.
5. The trial of the accused, regardless of the political and social factors, which leads to the commission of a crime or participation in it or the like, is one of the matters that violate the justice and rights of individuals. Ignoring the roots of the thoughts and actions of takfiri and terrorist groups in the processes governing the country of Saudi Arabia, its aggression against Yemen and committing war crimes and genocide against the defenseless people of that country for more than seven years, exerting pressure and efforts to normalize relations with the Zionist regime, which has caused public outrage and hatred in the region and other cases, leave no choice for the citizens except protest. Therefore, the solution is to find the root and solve these problems in a principled way, and not to carry out mass executions.
Finally, the issuers of this statement reiterated the need for all countries to adhere to human dignity, legal and moral norms, fundamental rights, and avoidance of arbitrary punishments, and called on all countries, international and regional organizations, members of the Islamic Ummah and all the free people of the world, to condemn this criminal act and to work for global solidarity in the fight against oppression and the establishment of justice.
وَتَرَى الظَّالِمِينَ لَمَّا رَأَوُا الْعَذَابَ يَقُولُونَ هَلْ إِلَىٰ مَرَدٍّ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ
صدق الله العلیّ العظیم
“You will see the wrongdoers, when they sight the punishment, saying, ‘Is there any way for a retreat?’”
God Almighty has spoken the truth
AhlulBayt (a.s.) World Assembly, The World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought, Al-Mustafa (p.b.u.h) International University, Islamic Culture and Communication Organization, Human Rights Headquarters