Saudi Arabia is ending the death penalty for crimes
committed by minors, the kingdom’s Human Rights Commission has announced.
In a statement published on Sunday, president of the
state-backed commission Awwad Alawwad said: “The decree helps us in
establishing a more modern penal code.”
“Instead, the individual will receive a prison sentence of
no longer than 10 years in a juvenile detention facility,” the statement said.
The decree is expected to spare the lives of at least six
men from the minority Shia community who are on death row. The six men were
accused of taking part in anti-government protests during the Arab Spring
uprisings while they were under the age of 18.
“This is an important day for Saudi Arabia,” said Awwad
Alawwad. “The decree helps us in establishing a more modern penal code.”
Details of when the new ruling would come into effect were
not provided, but it comes two days after it was revealed that Saudi Arabia
would no longer use flogging as a punishment for crimes, bringing to an end the
practice for which the kingdom has long been criticised.
A record 184 people were executed in the kingdom in 2019,
according to human rights group Amnesty International.
