A Jordanian man whose family claims he was tortured into confessing to drug charges was executed by Saudi Arabia. Hussein Abu al-Khair, 57, was a chauffeur for a wealthy Saudi with eight children.
In 2014, he was arrested for smuggling amphetamines while crossing the border from Jordan into Saudi Arabia. Later, he was sentenced to death following a trial that Amnesty International deemed "grossly unfair."
According to his sister, Zeinab Abul Al-Khair, he told her from prison that he had been beaten and strung up by his feet. She mentioned earlier this year that he never imagined that a coerced confession would be allowed at his trial.
His case has attracted international attention, and fears for his fate have increased since Saudi Arabia ended an unofficial moratorium on the use of the death penalty for drug offences in November. Within two weeks, seventeen men were executed on these charges. According to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Mr. Abu al-detention Khair's lacked a legal basis.
In addition, the UN Human Rights office issued an appeal for his release late in 2022. It states that the use of the death penalty for drug crimes violates international norms and standards.
Spokesperson Liz Throssell mentioned that they urge the Saudi government to comply with the Working Group's opinion by overturning al-death Kheir's sentence, releasing him immediately and unconditionally, and ensuring that he receives compensation, medical care and other reparations,". The sources from Saudi made the announcement that Hussein Abu al-Khair had been executed exactly one year after the largest mass execution in modern Saudi history.
It has been extremely critical of Saudi Arabia's allies, including the United Kingdom, for failing to take a stronger stance against human rights violations in the Kingdom. Maya Foa, the director of Reprieve mentioned that exactly one year ago, Mohammed bin Salman's regime executed 81 men in a single day. However, Saudi Arabia's international partners shrugged and issued meaningless statements about the importance of human rights.
"Instead of condemning the Crown Prince, world leaders lined up to shake his bloody hands," the author writes. This atrocity and others like it are an inevitable consequence. When allies indicate that the Saudi regime can kill without repercussions, you can be certain that it will "She continued. Mr. Abu al-case Khair's was raised in the UK parliament in late November, with a Foreign Office minister responding to an Urgent Question about an increase in executions in Saudi Arabia by stating that he was "obviously" tortured and that his treatment was "horrific." Conservative MP David Davis responded to news of the execution by stating, "The UK government knew Hussein Abu al-Khair was in imminent danger of being executed, but the foreign secretary failed to publicly call for his execution to be halted, despite his predecessors taking similar action in the past.
The United Kingdom must signal that it will no longer turn a blind eye to executions of this nature and speak out forcefully on behalf of those who continue to be at risk, including juvenile offenders like Abdullah al-Howaiti. The Saudi sources reported that the Ministry of the Interior was announcing the execution of Hussein Abu al-Khair to "confirm the eagerness of the Kingdom's government to combat all types of drugs due to the grave harm they cause to individuals and society."
