Riyadh: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) on Thursday, September 14, executed two Ministry of Defense employees in the Taif region on charges of treason, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
The two defendants were identified as Lieutenant Colonel Pilot Majid bin Musa Awad al-Balawi and Chief Sergeant Yousef bin Reda Hassan al-Azouni.
The duo reportedly committed several military felonies and were subsequently arrested in September 2017.
Al-Balawi was convicted of military treason and failure to protect the interests of the nation and the honour of his military service.
The investigation with Al-Azzouni resulted in his conviction for high treason in three forms— high, national, and military treason, in addition to accusing him of not preserving the interests of the nation and the honour of his military service.
They were referred to the competent court and provided with all evidence after they confessed to the charges against them.
According to a recent report by Amnesty International, the authorities in the Kingdom have executed at least 100 people since the beginning of 2023.
Amnesty International described it as a “relentless killing spree” despite the monarchy’s promises to examine the application of the death penalty.
In 2022, Saudi Arabia ranked third in the world for the number of executions carried out. The number of recorded executions tripled from 65 in 2021 to 196 in 2022 in the Kingdom.
