In the largest mass execution conducted by the kingdom in recent memory, Saudi Arabia on Saturday announced that the country executed 81 people convicted of a variety of crimes, including affiliation to terror groups.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced the executions, saying they included those “convicted of various crimes, including the murdering of innocent men, women and children.”
Riyadh also said some of those executed included members of al-Qaeda, Daesh and backers of Yemeni popular Ansarullah resistance movement, according to Sandiego Union Tribune.
The Saudi Press Agency claimed that the accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process, which found them “guilty of committing multiple heinous crimes that left a large number of civilians and law enforcement officers dead.”
Saudi Arabia’s last mass execution came in January 2016, when the kingdom executed 47 people, including a prominent opposition Shiite cleric who had rallied demonstrations in the kingdom.
Since March 2015, Saudi Arabia and a number of its regional allies — including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — launched a brutal war against Yemen.
The war was meant to eliminate Yemen’s popular Houthi Ansarullah movement and reinstall a former regime. The conflict, accompanied by a tight siege, has failed to reach its goals, but has killed hundreds of thousands of Yemeni people.