Saudi Arabia abolishes flogging sentence under pressure from NGOs

TheSaudi Arabia abolished the much-criticized flogging sentence for “complying with international human rights standards [contre] corporal punishment, “according to a Supreme Court document read by the AFP on Saturday. The ultra-conservative kingdom
faces strong criticism from NGOs because of human rights violations, including the existence of a flogging penalty for murder, breach of “public order” or even extra-marital relations.

“The Supreme Court decided in April to remove flogging among the sentences that judges can decide,” said the highest judicial authority in the kingdom in this document, without specifying an exact date. According to her, magistrates will now have to opt for imprisonment and / or fines as well as alternative penalties such as community service, to “comply with international human rights standards [qui prohibent] corporal punishment ”.

Increased crackdown on dissidents

This decision comes, according to this document, in the context of “reforms and advances in human rights” under the supervision of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. This last, de facto leader of the country since 2017, is particularly singled out by human rights organizations. The economic and social opening that the so-called “MBS” led has been accompanied by increased repression against dissidents.

Announcement of suppression of flogging comes in the aftermath of harsh criticism from NGOs against the kingdom, after the death in prison of a stroke by 11-year-old human rights activist Abdallah al-Hamid for “breaking allegiance” to the Saudi king, “inciting disorder” and seeking to destabilize state security, according to Amnesty International.

The case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been the most emblematic in recent years. A defender of freedom of expression, he was sentenced in 2014 to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison for “insulting” Islam. In 2015, he won the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, awarded by the European Parliament which had called for his “immediate” release.

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