Seven Saudis were executed in Abha yesterday after being found guilty of forming a gang that perpetrated armed robberies with the complicity of others.
The death sentence was issued by the General Court and approved by the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. Other accomplices were sentenced to different prison terms and lashes, the Interior Ministry said.
The ministry identified the executed gang leaders as Sarhan bin Ahmed Al-Mashayikh, Saeed bin Hassan Al-Amri, Ali bin Muhammad Al-Shahri, Nasser bin Saeed Al-Qahtani, Saeed bin Nasser Al-Shahrani, Abdul Aziz bin Saleh Al-Amri and Ali bin Hadi Al-Qahtani.
The ministry reiterated the government’s determination to safeguard the Kingdom’s security and establish justice by tracking down criminals and punishing them according to the law to serve as a deterrent to others.
Meanwhile, Sheikh Ali Al-Hakami, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars said that execution by shooting is permissible by Islamic law if it is similar to using the sword in this regard. "The origin of any penalty or execution is to end the offender's life as a punishment for his misdeeds," he was quoted as saying to a local newspaper. Al-Hakami added: "The killing or execution should be swift, with no more harm done to the offender than the punishment befalling him." This is why the sword is used in such punishment, he said, as it kills the person without further suffering.
Robbers executed
