Watchdogs Condemn Hammond for 'Condoning' Saudi Mass Executions

Prominent human rights groups have lashed out at UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond for “excusing” mass killings in Saudi Arabia, British media reported Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – A week ago, Riyadh executed 47 alleged terrorists, including prominent peaceful anti-government protester and Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, which triggered global outrage. Following the execution, Hammond said all those executed were “terrorists," adding that Britain must come into terms with the “reality” that some nations will never abandon the use of the death penalty.

“It is appalling that Phillip Hammond refused to condemn the mass beheadings that took place in Saudi on January 2," David Mepham, Britain director at Human Rights Watch (HRW), told Huffington Post UK. “The Foreign Secretary chose not to criticise Saudi executions but rather to contextualise, explain and seemingly excuse them.”

International pressure groups Reprieve and Amnesty International joined HRW in condemning the British top diplomat's statement.

“By refusing to condemn these executions and parroting the Saudis' propaganda, labelling those killed as 'terrorists', Hammond is coming dangerously close to condoning Saudi Arabia's approach," Reprieve death penalty team director Maya Foa said as quoted by the newspaper.

The human right groups' condemnation comes as it was revealed Saudi Arabia was conspicuously missing from Britain’s five-year strategy on how to abolish capital punishment worldwide, despite ranking third among countries in terms of the number of executions.

Nimr al-Nimr had demanded more rights for Shiites, who are a minority in Saudi Arabia where most citizens are Sunni Muslims. In 2014, he was sentenced by Saudi authorities to death on charges of inciting hatred, disobedience to the king and the establishment of a terrorist cell with the aim to attack law enforcement personnel.