Mentioned in the Old Testament and carried over to subsequent faiths, the ‘eye for an eye’ view can and often will thrust people on differing sides of the fence. In Saudi Arabia, as elsewhere, capital punishment is still being meted out to those proven guilty of a variety of crimes. This year alone, more than 100 people have been executed during the first ten months as a result of violent crimes towards others.
While the executions often result in wide-spread condemnation from international human rights groups, little concern is shed for the victims. The victim often remains a voiceless statistic, while the executed criminal gets the glory.
The crimes that warrant capital punishment are clearly defined: Terrorism, drug-smuggling, kidnapping, armed robbery and rape. For these crimes, the guilty can either be placed under the sword or be pardoned by the family of the victim. The state often has no say in such matters.
Take the case of homicide, for instance. If the perpetrator is proven guilty, the state demands his incarceration for a minimal time, while he awaits his fate based on the demands of the victim’s relatives. In the case of a pardon by the victim’s family, he is let off. This is often the case when there is no indication or cause of pre-meditation for the crime.
Pardon can come in the form of mercy from the victim’s relatives, pressure from the extended family or the community, or the payment of ‘blood money’ — the amount for which can range from hundreds of thousands of riyals to several millions. However, when the family decides that the guilty has committed an unpardonable crime, no law in the land can intervene and the guilty has to be executed.
Most urban dwellers whom I have encountered do not perceive this act of retribution as inhumane, if the crime in itself was ghastly in nature. The kidnapping and molestation of a child, or the rape and murder of a defenceless woman, or a pre-meditated murder would not elicit any form of sympathy for the assailant in any form. Although they may quote verses from the Quran, saying that forgiveness is divine, few will march in defence of and against the execution of a criminal who has been proven guilty.
Others may point to capital punishment as a potent deterrent to heinous crimes. In that, people can, for the most part, walk freely without fear of being accosted by an armed robber.
While in some countries, the innocent have been reportedly executed through flawed investigations, raising public indignation over the role of such state-sponsored executions, such errors are minimised in Saudi Arabia owing to self-admissions and weightage to witness versions. And testimonies are usually scrutinised in several tiers of the legal system before a final verdict is issued.
Rarely do we hear of someone’s life having been put to an end wrongfully, owing to a flawed testimony or the absence of a high-profile legal defence team or the lack of the accused person’s social status. The law applies equally to one and all.
Today, as the Gulf rebounds in growth and business ventures, a growing social area of concern is rising drug abuse. A report recently stated that while cocaine use is again increasing in its established markets in Western Europe and North America, “there are signs that the drug is gaining a foothold in Asia, with the Middle East now accounting for approximately 3 per cent of global consumption. Previous United Nations reports also revealed that the region accounted for 39 per cent of Asia’s cocaine seizures between 2009 and 2013. This figure increased to 49 per cent the following year”.
The UN report added that the Gulf Cooperation Council states have “witnessed an increase in seizures at their airports ... It is also a reflection of the cartels’ growing business interests in difficult neighbourhoods”.
Many bright futures have been doomed by the introduction and illegal trading of drugs. Execution of those peddling drugs is the least the state can do.
So, is capital punishment justified? Does the end justify the means?
Irrespective of the answer, the state must continue its vigilance and action.
Tariq A. Al Maeena is a Saudi socio-political commentator. He lives in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. You can follow him on Twitter @talmaeena.
