Cross-party MPs and peers have signed a joint letter calling on the UK government to vote against Saudi Arabia’s bid for a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council, reports The Independent.
The letter, which is addressed to the Foreign Secretary David Lammy, raises concerns about human rights violations in the country including a surge in executions.
The letter urges the Foreign Secretary “not to vote for such an unsuitable candidate.” It also raises the cases of three child defendants Abdullah Al-Derazi, Youseef Al-Manasif, and Abdullah Al-Howaiti who face imminent execution.
Saudi authorities are behaving as though they have “carte blanche to kill who they want, when they want,” Reprieve’s head of death penalty for the MENA region Jeed Basyouni told The Independent, adding that the UK government and other member states should “seek to stop this spiralling execution crisis.”
