Saudi Arabia’s execution of two Bahraini was met with widespread condemnations that considered the move as ‘arbitrary death’ following a trial once described by Amnesty International as “grossly unfair”.
Saudi Arabia announced on Monday it executed two Bahraini men, Jaafar Sultan and Sadeq Thamer, after allegedly being convicted of “belonging to a militant group wanting to destabilize the two Mideast kingdoms,” according to a statement by Saudi Interior Ministry.
The execution took place early on Monday in Saudi Arabia’s predominantly Shiite Eastern Province. Sultan and Thamer had been arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2015.
Angry demonstrations erupted across Bahrain condemning the execution, with protesters chanting slogans against the governments in Saudi and Bahrain.
غضب شعبي عارم في #البحرين إثر إعدام #السعودية لمواطنين تم اعتقالهما منذ 9 سنوات – المشهد لمسيرة حاشدة الليلة في منطقة دار كليب مسقط رأس #صادق_ثامر و #جعفر_سلطان#البحرين_مفجوعة pic.twitter.com/XUHP02tYeb
— Jawad Fairooz (@JawadFairooz) May 29, 2023
The Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq Society denounced the execution, accusing the Saudi regime of committing a crime.
The execution “is a sin and political execution that doesn’t meet minimum moral and legal standards.”
Prominent cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Issa Qassem also condemned the Saudi move, describing as a crime against Bahraini people. In phone calls with families of the two martyrs, Ayatollah Qassem offered condolences, as he praised the sacrifices made by them.
“Grossly Unfair Trial”
Amnesty International and other rights groups had criticized their trial as being grossly unfair.
Last year, the rights group had criticized their October 2021 trial and conviction, adding they also had faced charges for “participation in anti-government protests in Bahrain.”
“Jaafar and Sadeq had no access to legal representation throughout their pre-trial detention and interrogations,” the rights group said in a statement in May 2022.
“According to court documents, they told the court that they were tortured and that their so-called confessions were extracted under duress,” Amnesty’s statement added.
“Arbitrary Deaths”
Commenting on Monday’s execution, director at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei said that the executions should be categorized as arbitrary deaths.
“These executions are arbitrary as the two men were subjected to coerced confessions under torture which were then used as evidence against them during an unfair trial, a practice prohibited under international law,” Alwadaei said in a statement given to Middle East Eye.
“The Saudi leadership feels they are immune from any consequences when they execute men they have tortured. The Bahraini regime is complicit as they failed to act to save the lives of their citizens, providing a green light to Saudi to proceed with their executions.”
Source: Agencies
