In a first, Saudi Arabia executes 81 convicts in one day on account of terrorism

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New Delhi: In the first of its kind sentencing against terrorism, Saudi Arabia executed 81 people on a number of terrorism-related crimes in one day, reported news agency AFP on Saturday.

As per the report, this single-day execution exceeded the number of executions conducted by the kingdom in the last one year.

Out of those executed, 73 were Saudi citizens, seven were Yemeni nationals and one was Syrian.

According to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), all the 81 people who were executed  were "found guilty of committing multiple heinous crimes.” Many of the convicts were linked to known terror outfits like the Islamic State group, or to Al-Qaeda, Yemen's Huthi rebel forces or "other terrorist organisations.”

Most of these convicts were accused of plotting attacks on significant economic sites, had targeted or had killed members of the security forces, or had smuggled weapons into the country, the SPA added.

The Saudi news agency clarified that the 81 convicts who were executed were tried in a Saudi court of law, with trials overseen by 13 judges over three separate stages for each individual.

The oil-rich Gulf nation is known for one of the world's highest execution rates.

Saturday's announcement marks the kingdom's highest number of recorded executions in one day and more than the total of 69 executions in all of 2021.