Five men beheaded by Saudis ‘were tortured into gay confessions’
FIVE men brutally beheaded in Saudi Arabia as part of a mass execution of 37 ‘terrorists’ also ‘confessed’ to being gay, according to court papers.
The confessions are strongly thought to have been forced from the men after many of the 37 testified that they had been tortured.
The five executed men admitted being involved in sexual relationships with each other – which is illegal in Saudi Arabia – in written statements which have emerged following one of the largest mass executions in the Gulf State’s recent history.
Homosexuality is punishable by death in Saudi Arabia, which adheres to the Islamic code of Sharia law, while the number of executions in the country has doubled in recent years – including more than 100 in 2019.
Last night, Britain issued its sharpest condemnation yet of Saudi Arabia – describing the executions as ‘repulsive’ and ‘utterly unacceptable in the modern world’.
The mass executions sparked outrage when it emerged that the victims, mostly from the Shia minority and all accused of terrorism, included three who were minors when they were charged.
One of the executed men allegedly admitted to having sex with four of his co-accused ‘terrorists’. A document obtained from the religious court states that the man confessed to gay acts and hating Saudi’s majority Sunni sect. The unnamed man had denied the charges against him and his lawyer claimed the confession was a fabrication.
The executions were carried out last Tuesday in the cities of Riyadh, Mecca and Medina. One of the prisoners had his body and severed head pinned to a pole in a public square – the most severe punishment under Islamic law.
Last night, Michael Page, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said: ‘Saudi authorities will characterise those executed as terrorists and dangerous criminals but the reality is that Saudi courts are largely devoid of any process, and many of those executed were condemned solely on confessions they credibly say were coerced.
‘The death penalty is never the answer to crimes and executing prisoners en masse shows that the Saudi leadership has little interest in improving the country’s dismal human rights record.’ Saudi’s de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has also faced international condemnation over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the country’s embassy in Istanbul, Turkey, last year.
The youngest of those executed last week was 21- year-old Abdulkarim al-Hawaj. He was arrested in 2015 for spreading information about anti-government protests on messaging service WhatsApp. According to human rights group Reprieve, al-Hawaj was tortured with electricity until he ‘confessed’.
The mass executions were also strongly condemned by t he United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, who said it was ‘particularly abhorrent’ that at the time of their sentencing three of those executed had been aged under 18. Foreign Office Minister Sir Alan Duncan said: ‘The UK Government opposes the death penalty in all circumstances and in every country, including in Saudi Arabia.’