Saudi Arabia ramped up executions in first half of 2021: Amnesty

The kingdom executed at least 40 people between January and July 2021, more than in whole of 2020, UK-based group says.

Saudi Arabia has ramped up executions in the first half of 2021 following a drop during its G20 presidency in 2020, according to United Kingdom-based rights group Amnesty International. The rights group said on Tuesday that the kingdom executed at least 40 people between January and July 2021 – more than during the whole of last year. Although Saudi Arabia executed a record 185 people in 2019, the state-backed Human Rights Commission said in January that the kingdom had reduced the number of executions by 85 percent in 2020 compared with the previous year, putting the number for 2020 at 27.