King Salman of Saudi Arabia has ordered an end to the use of the death penalty for minors one day after issuing a decree stopping the practice of flogging. The ban will help Saudi Arabia create “a more modern penal code and demonstrates the kingdom’s commitment to following through on key reforms,” Awwad Alawwad, president of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, said in a statement Sunday. The king issued a decree in late 2018 establishing the 10-year maximum for minors convicted of all offenses except for capital crimes. “This step, if true, needs to nullify current death sentences of all children,” Ali al-Ahmed, a Saudi rights activist in Washington, told the AP. But the 2018 killing of dissident and Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in a Saudi Consulate in Turkey hurt Riyadh's standing internationally.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 27, 2020 14:37 UTC