Saudi Arabia ‘crucifies’ killer amid row with Canada
Saudi Arabia has beheaded and publicly ‘‘crucified’’ an immigrant convicted of murder, even as its row with Canada over its human rights record threatens to escalate.
The immigrant, Elias Abulkalaam Jamaleddeen, from Burma, was accused of breaking into the home of a fellow Burmese, robbing her and stabbing her to death.
He was also accused of attempted rape and of robbing another home.
Such crimes regularly attract the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, which is normally carried out by public beheading.
Crucifixion, which does not bear the same implications as in the West, is a rare addition to the penalty, involving the public display of the corpse with arms outstretched.
It is reserved for crimes regarded as particularly heinous and is last known to have been carried out in 2010, on a Yemeni man accused of raping and murdering a child.
There was no indication in a state news agency report on the latest execution, which took place in Mecca on Thursday, that it was linked to the country’s continuing dispute with Canada.
The row began with tweets last week by Canada’s foreign ministry demanding the release of rights activists, particularly women, in Saudi Arabia. They referred in particular to Samar al-Badawi, the sister of the jailed blogger Raif Badawi. His wife, Ensaf Haidar, has been granted asylum in Canada with their children and is a prominent critic of the country.
Saudi Arabia expelled the Canadian ambassador and recalled its own, and said that it was cutting off trade ties, except for oil exports.
It later announced that it was withdrawing scholarships from Saudi students in Canada and arranging for them to study in Britain and the United States.
On Thursday, it ordered the transfer to other countries of all Saudi citizens being treated in Canadian hospitals.
Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, has tried to make some amends by offering conciliatory words directed at Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the de facto Saudi leader. The prince has combined a crackdown on rights activists with greater personal freedoms for Saudi women.
‘‘Diplomatic talks continue,’’ Trudeau said yesterday, confirming that Chrystia Freeland, the foreign minister, had spoken to Adel alJubeir, her Saudi counterpart, in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
‘‘We don’t want to have poor relations with Saudi Arabia. It is a country that has great significance in the world, that is making progress in the area of human rights.’’
However, Jubeir has shown no sign of relenting, rejecting offers of mediation. He said that Canada needed to ‘‘rectify its big mistake’’.
He has been backed by Saudi Arabia’s regional allies, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, while Western nations have been slow to speak up on Canada’s behalf.
The US said it did not want to get involved; Britain merely called on both sides to show restraint.
‘‘The UK is a strong supporter of human rights,’’ the Foreign Office added.
‘‘We regularly raise our concerns with the Saudi government about human rights issues.’’ – The Times
‘‘We don’t want to have poor relations with Saudi Arabia. It is a country that has great significance in the world, that is making progress in the area of human rights.’’
Justin Trudeau, Canadian prime minister