Saudi Arabia publicly executes murder convict unable to raise $1 million News
Saudi Arabia publicly executes murder convict unable to raise $1 million

A man convicted of murder was publicly beheaded on Tuesday in Saudi Arabia after he was unable to meet the monetary demand of the victim’s family which would have prevented his death. Joselito Lidasan Zapanta, from the Philippines, was convicted [AP report] of robbery and murder in 2010 by a court in Riyadh. The family of the victim had agreed to sign an affidavit of forgiveness, which would have acted as a pardon from the death penalty, only if he was able to pay them $1 million within a two week deadline. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs [official website] in a statement said that it “has undertaken and exhausted all diplomatic and legal efforts, and extended consular and legal assistance to preserve the life of Mr. Zapanta.” It is reported that Zapanta’s family and the Philippine government was able to raise only $488,000.

Saudi Arabia’s justice system has drawn international criticism [JURIST report] for alleged human rights abuses in recent years. In November Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] reported [press release] that Saudi Arabia has executed a record 151 people this year, the highest number since 1995. In 2014 the total number of executions carried out was 90, which would mean that this total number is up by 68 percent. AI said that almost half of all the executions carried out in 2015 were for offenses that are not considered “most serious crimes” under the international human rights laws. Saudi Arabia also reportedly continues to impose the death sentence on individuals under the age of 18, violating child human rights laws. As little as two months ago, a group of UN human rights experts urged authorities [JURIST report] in Saudi Arabia to block the execution [press release] of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr [IBT backgrounder], who was convicted of involvement in the Arab Spring protests when he was 17.