Amnesty International Claim On Syria Hangings Lacks Evidence

The media was quick to oversell the story, which was based on the limited testimony of Syrian rebels.

Jason Ditz
By Jason Ditz
Screenshot of the coverage of Amnesty's report on alleged abuses at the Saydnaya Prison in Syria.

A report from Amnesty International citing testimony from a handful of rebels and other opposition figures, and claiming a large number of hangings carried out by the Syrian government at a single prison has been quickly accepted by media outlets, and in many cases far overstated, despite a lack of really concrete proof it ever happened. The

Read Full Article

Georgia Leads Nation In Number Of Executions As Texas Slows

One thing Georgia and Texas have in common that has allowed them to execute more inmates than other states is a seemingly reliable supply of execution drugs.

Associated Press
By Associated Press
The execution chamber at the Washington State Penitentiary is shown with the witness gallery behind glass at right, in Walla Walla, Wash.

ATLANTA  — Georgia led the nation this year in the number of inmates put to death, an anomaly that's due at least in part to executions in Texas dipping into single digits for the first time in 20 years. With nine lethal injections in 2016, Georgia accounted for nearly half of the 20 executions nationwide. It was the most inmates the state has

Read Full Article

Belgium Refuses Arms Sales To Saudi Arabia, Germany May Follow

The Minister-President of Belgium’s Flanders on Wednesday declined Saudi Arabia’s request for military equipment supplies to the country amid Riyadh executions and the conflict in Yemen.

Sputnik News
By Sputnik News

MOSCOW — "We have rejected the request [for military equipment supplies to Saudi Arabia]," Geert Bourgeois told the Flemish Parliament, as quoted by the RTBF broadcaster. On Tuesday, Bourgeois said in an interview with the broadcaster that he would not give permission for arms sales to Saudi Arabia given the mass executions in the kingdom and

Read Full Article

Europe, Sympathetic To Iran, Slams Saudi Executions

Europe is showing a lot less willingness than the U.S. to look the other way on the Saudi executions.

Jason Ditz
By Jason Ditz
Iran

Historically cozy US-Saudi relations have kept the Obama Administration relatively quiet on the weekend Saudi execution of a top Shi’ite cleric, a move that US officials warned them against and which they did anyhow. Europe, however, is showing a lot less willingness to look the other way on the Saudi executions, and while the Saudis scramble to

Read Full Article

Canada Condemns Saudi Executions, But Arms Sales Speak Louder Than Words

In immediate aftermath of mass executions, Canada confirms that mega-sale of arms to Gulf state will proceed.

Sarah Lazare
By Sarah Lazare
Former Conservative foreign affairs minister John Baird meets then Crown Prince Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in Jiddah in October 2014, just three months before Salman would become king. (The Associated Press)

Despite condemning Saudi Arabia's recent mass executions and raising concerns about human rights abuses, the Canadian government said this week it is moving forward with a controversial $15 billion weapons sale to the Gulf state. Reportedly Canada's largest-ever arms export contract, the deal was confirmed amid growing condemnation of ongoing

Read Full Article

Saudi Arabia Beheads Nearly Twice As Many People As ISIS So Far This Year

Saudi Arabia recently killed three convicted robbers and a murderer, while ISIS executed an elderly archaeologist for idolatry last week.

MintPress News Desk
By MintPress News Desk
Saudi military personnel hone their beheading skills with wooden swords.

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia --- In January, a Muslim woman from Myanmar screamed “I did not kill” and pled with her attackers for mercy, but they showed none. In the center of an intersection, she was publicly beheaded in front of spectators, her death caught covertly on video. It’s the kind of horrifying tableau that has become almost commonplace in

Read Full Article