Saudi Arabia Curbs Controversial Use of Death Penalty, Flogging

(Bloomberg) --

Saudi Arabia has abolished the death penalty for people who committed crimes as minors and curbed the use of flogging as a punishment, announcing the judicial reforms as it prepares for a bigger role on the world stage.

Awad Alawwad, president of the government’s Human Rights Commission, said on Sunday that further reforms were planned as the kingdom establishes “a more modern penal code.”

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has embarked on a social and economic transformation program, even as he cracks down on domestic dissent. The latest policy shifts come at a key time for the kingdom, which is hosting the Group of 20 leaders’ summit later this year and has used the occasion to raise its international profile and highlight ongoing reforms. Saudi Arabia has long faced international opprobrium for criminal punishments that included beheadings and public floggings.

The changes were passed by royal decree and a supreme court decision, according to the Human Rights Commission. Saudis under 18 who are convicted of serious crimes that previously could have earned the death penalty will receive up to 10 years in a juvenile detention facility, the commission said. Instead of flogging, judges will give fines or prison sentences, according to a second statement.

The decision will save the lives of several young Shiite men who were sentenced to death for crimes allegedly committed during unrest in the kingdom’s Eastern province, including Ali Al-Nimr, who was 17 when he was arrested in 2012.

‘Hadd’ Crimes

The new policies also carry potentially symbolic importance for the rest of the Islamic world, where Saudi Arabia’s export of ultra-conservative doctrine over the years has shaped local practice among Muslims in far-flung places like Sri Lanka and the Balkans.

It wasn’t clear whether flogging would be ended entirely. In the government’s Arabic statements and in local media, the decision was described as stopping the use of lashings as a discretionary penalty. That could preserve the practice for so-called “hadd” crimes such as sex out of wedlock, which orthodox clerics say must be punished by flogging according to the Koran. It’s unclear how common such cases are, though, and a reduction in powers for the kingdom’s religious police several years ago has reduced arrests for crimes of morality.

The Human Rights Commission’s English statement said the decision would “effectively eliminate flogging.” The commission didn’t immediately respond to a request for further comment.

Saudi Arabia has faced pressure to end flogging for years, long before the reign of the current King Salman. Among the most widely covered cases was that of Raid Badawi, a Saudi writer who was sentenced in 2014 to 1,000 lashes for “insulting Islam,” among other charges, sparking international condemnation. Most of the lashes were not administered, though he remains imprisoned.

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