Saudi Arabia beheads 37 prisoners for terrorism crimes

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded 37 Saudi citizens in a mass execution across the country for alleged terrorism-related crimes. It publicly pinned one of the convicts' bodies and its severed head to a pole as a warning to others.

Amnesty International said they were convicted "after sham trials" that relied on confessions extracted through torture.

It marked the largest number of executions in a single day in Saudi Arabia since Jan. 2, 2016, when the kingdom executed 47 people for terrorism-related crimes in what was the largest mass execution carried out by Saudi Arabia since 1980.

Among those executed three years ago were four Shiites, including prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, whose death sparked protests from Pakistan to Iran and the ransacking of the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. Saudi-Iran ties have not recovered and the embassy remains shuttered.

King Salman ratified by royal decree Tuesday's mass execution and that of 2016. The king, who has empowered his son Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has asserted a bolder and more decisive leadership style than previous monarchs since ascending to the throne in 2015.

The kingdom and its allies have also been emboldened by U.S. President Donald Trump's unwavering dedication to pressuring Iran's leadership, which includes his decision to pull out of a nuclear agreement with Iran and re-impose punishing sanctions to cripple its economy.

Dissident Ali Al-Ahmed, who runs the Gulf Institute in Washington, described Tuesday's executions as a politically motivated message to Iran, as he identified 34 of those executed as Shiites based on the names announced by the Interior Ministry.

"This is political," he said. "They didn't have to execute these people, but it's important for them to ride the American anti-Iranian wave."

The ministry's statement said those executed had adopted extremist ideologies and formed terrorist cells with the aim of spreading chaos and provoking sectarian strife. It said the individuals had been found guilty according to the law and ordered executed by the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh, which specializes in terrorism trials, and the country's high court.

The individuals were found guilty of attacking security installations with explosives, killing a number of security officers and cooperating with enemy organizations against the interests of the country, the Interior Ministry said.

The Interior Ministry said the body of one of the men — Khaled bin Abdel Karim al-Tuwaijri — was publicly pinned to a pole for several hours in a process that is not frequently used by the kingdom and has sparked controversy for its grisly display. The statement did not say in which city of Saudi Arabia the public display took place.

The government defends such executions as a powerful tool for deterrence.

Amnesty International said 11 of the men were convicted of spying for Iran and sentenced to death after a "grossly unfair trial." At least 14 others executed were convicted of violent offences related to their participation in anti-government demonstrations in Shiite-populated areas of Saudi Arabia between 2011 and 2012.

Among those put to death was a young man convicted of a crime that took place when he was 16 years-old, said Amnesty.

Saudi analysts and pro-government writers brought in to discuss the executions on state broadcaster al-Ekhbariya said they are a powerful sign that the country's leadership will not hesitate to use the full might of the judicial system to punish Saudis who seek to disrupt the kingdom's security.

The executions bring the number of people executed since the start of the year to around 100, according to official announcements. Last year, the kingdom executed 149 people, most of them drug smugglers convicted of non-violent crimes, according to Amnesty's most recent figures.