With Saudi Arabia set to behead dozens, the countries that execute the most people

This week, reports have suggested that authorities in Saudi Arabia are planning to execute dozens of people in one day.

The Saudi newspaper Okaz, a publication which has close links to the Saudi Ministry of the Interior, said 55 people were currently awaiting execution for “terrorist crimes”.

Among those facing execution are three young men who were youths when they were arrested.

Amnesty International expressed alarm at the reports, as the organisation records that at least 151 people have been put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year, the highest figure since 1995.

Last year, the total number of executions recorded was 90.

It is believed that seven of the men are Shia, who have long protested over discrimination and mistreatment by the Sunni central government.

In 2014, 2,466 death sentences were recorded by Amnesty International, excluding figures from China which are a state secret.

Amnesty estimates, however, that these numbers are in the thousands and outnumber the rest of the world combined.

Saudi Arabia ranked third, behind Iran which admitted to 289 executions, but the true number is suspected to be higher still.

(HT BBC)

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