According to the Saudi Arabian Ministry of the Interior, two Bahraini nationals were executed on terrorism charges. Jaafar Muhammad Ali Muhammad Juma Sultan and Sadiq Majeed Abdul Rahim Ibrahim Thamer were accused of coordinating with terrorist cells abroad, especially in Bahrain, to carry out attacks inside Saudi Arabia. The statement reads below:
The United Nations urged Saudi Arabia to allow third party investigations back in 2022 when rumors began to surface that the two men were tortured into confessing their ties to terrorist groups. Both men were arrested in 2015 when crossing the King Fahd Causeway from Bahrain into Saudi Arabia, they are Shia Muslims. The Kingdom has denied the torture allegations and carried out the execution today.
This marks the, at least, 40th execution in Saudi Arabia this year and the 9th since 2 May 23, reaffirming Saudi Arabia as the most prolific state executioner in the Middle East. Notably, in 2022, the kingdom executed 147 people, including 81 in a single day. All but one of these executions took place in the Eastern part of the Kingdom which is predominantly Shia.
