Cairo: Saudi Arabia has abolished death sentences and the execution of convicts who are less than 18 years old at the time of committing a crime, Saudi newspaper Okaz has reported.
Security authorities have been directed to compile a list of final death sentences issued against inmates who were minors at the time of perpetrating crimes and put them on hold, the paper added, citing unidentified sources.
Such inmates have now the right to appeal against their death sentences, according to the report.
Public prosecution has been directed to amend indictment bills against underage defendants to make the maximum penalty 10 years in prison whether they are charged with one or more crimes, the sources said.
“Should the verdict be final and the convict was under the age of 18 at the time of perpetrating the crime, a 10-year jail term would be the maximum. The sentence would be suspended if the prisoner has stayed for more than 10 years in prison,” the sources said.
Courts have been directed that jail sentences should not be longer than 10 years in cases involving minors charged with criminal acts “under all circumstances”, the sources added.
The reported amendments come days after Saudi Arabia eliminated flogging as a form of punishment in what rights advocates see as dramatic steps to reform its penal code.
