RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will no longer impose the death sentence on individuals who committed crimes while still minors, the state-backed Human Rights Commission (HRC) said in a statement, citing a royal decree by King Salman.
“The decree means that any individuals who received a death sentence for crimes committed while he or she is a minor can no longer face execution. Instead, the individual will receive a prison sentence of no longer than 10 years in a juvenile detention facility,” HRC President Awwad Alawwad said in the statement.
Recently, the General Commission for the Saudi Supreme Court recently took the landmark decision to end flogging as a form of punishment and to be replaced by prison sentences, fines or of both. “The decision is an extension of the human rights reforms introduced under the direction of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the direct supervision of Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman,” the commission said.
Flogging has been applied to punish a variety of crimes in the Kingdom. There are cases under which individual judges have the latitude to interpret religious texts and come up with their own sentences.
