The Spanish newspaper El País has reported on the agony faced by the families of people executed by Saudi Arabia due to the regime’s failure to return the bodies of those killed to their relatives.
Along with being one of the worlds top-executing countries – there have been at least 140 executions so far this year alone – the Saudi government’s consistent refusal to return the bodies of those killed to their loved ones, or even to inform them of where they are buried, compounds the trauma and the loss for the families.
The article includes testimony from the families of some of the seven Ethiopian migrants who have been executed so far this year in Saudi Arabia, after being convicted of non-lethal drug offences after structirally unfair trials where they were offered little by way of legal support or translation. At least 76 more men are at immediate risk of being killed.
Reprieve worked with journalist Lola Hierro on the story. Providing expert commentary on the opaque and inconsistent communication that families of executed prisoners in Saudi receive about their loved ones, our head of death penalty projects in the Middle East, North Africa, and South Asia, Jeed Basyouni, said:
“Withholding the bodies of people executed by the Saudi authorities is a widespread practice, and has emerged as a distinct human rights violation.
“Migrant workers and other foreign nationals face additional barriers. Their families are often outside Saudi Arabia, may not speak Arabic, and must rely on embassies or consulates for information. This makes it more difficult to confirm that an execution has taken place, obtain official documentation, and request the repatriation of the body.”
“There is no consistent mechanism for notifying families that an execution has taken place. In many cases, families are not informed in advance that an execution is due. They may find out through a public government statement, the media, or social media, rather than an official notification.
“Withholding a body or concealing graves extends the impact of the punishment from the person who was executed to their family. It denies relatives the ability to mourn and hold burial rites in accordance with their religion and cultural traditions, and compounds their trauma”.
Read the full piece (in Spanish) on El País.
