VP/HR — Wave of executions in Saudi Arabia
1.8.2019
Question for written answer E-002511-19
to the Commission (Vice-President/High Representative)
Rule 138
Fabio Massimo Castaldo (NI)
On 29 July 2019, Baroness Helena Kennedy presented her legal opinion and her report entitled ‘A perverse and Ominous Enterprise: The Death Penalty and Illegal Executions in Saudi Arabia’[1] to the United Kingdom House of Commons.
The report is based on official documents, open sources and direct interviews with family members of victims and current inmates on death row and highlights the alarming increase in the illegal use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, especially with regard to human rights defenders and minors, following grossly unfair trials.
The report highlights how, this year alone, more than 100 people have been executed, including at least six who were children at the time of their alleged offences. It also identifies another 24 individuals who are currently on death row or, in any case, at imminent risk of arbitrary execution.
In the light of these worrying figures, and in view of the EU’s firm and principled stance against the death penalty, what action does the High Representative intend to take, or has she already taken, to bring this issue to the attention of the Saudi authorities?
- [1] https://m.arabi21.com/UP/SEVEN%20Earth/KSA%20-%20Report%20on%20Use%20of%20the%20Death%20Penalty%202019%20.pdf