Saudi Arabia: Supreme Court removes flogging from list of forms of punishment

The Saudi Arabian judicial system is undergoing a series of reforms when it comes to Saudi human rights . A modification under this premise revolves around one of the corporal punishments: flogging .

According to the Reuters news agency, flogging has been removed from the list of approved forms of punishment. The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia stated that fines and imprisonments will be the new procedures.

“The decision is an extension of the human rights reforms introduced under the direction of King Salmán and the direct supervision of Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salmán,” was the textual quote that was broadcast by the international media.

This new policy for the integrity of the person has been endorsed by the head of the state Human Rights Commission, Awwad Alawwad, who did not hesitate to give his value judgment in light of this favorable situation.

“This reform is a critical step on Saudi Arabia’s human rights agenda, and simply one of many recent reforms in the kingdom,” said Alawwad.

The casuistry of the previous form of punishment has shocked the world. Verbigracia, in 2014 a blogger was sentenced to flogging for insulting Islam in comments on the Internet. The subject received 1,000 lashes and a one-year prison sentence.

As is known, flogging was applied in response to various types of offenses. On the other hand, the Saudi judicial system is based on religious law and characterized by considerable freedom of interpretation by judges.

Despite the fact that the flogging has been annulled by the Saudi Arabian judicial apparatus, the beheading for serious crimes or the amputation of hands for theft are still in force. It is worth mentioning that in the Arab monarchy not only these corporal punishments are applied.