(MENAFN- Arab News) RIYADH: None of the 47 people executed on Saturday was a minor.
Mansoor Al-Qaffazi spokesman of the Ministry of Interior was quoted on a news website recently as saying that the Kingdom's judiciary implements the orders of the Islamic Shariah Law which requires that a person must have reached the age of adulthood in order to be put to death as punishment for a crime.
Indeed some have commented that one of the first priorities of the court is an overarching awareness of the importance of the mental capacity of each accused person when convicting them of a crime an issue which is closely monitored by both the Appeals Court and the Supreme Court.
This explanation from the Ministry of Interior came following the remarks of some foreign media bodies which reported that there were some people below 18 years of age among those who were executed Saturday.
The Kingdom executed 47 people in total on this occasion 45 of whom were Saudi citizens showing the country's zero tolerance policy for terrorism extremism or sectarianism. Among the most well-known persons in the group were Faris Al-Shuwail and Nimr Al-Nimr. Despite the criticisms leveled against the Kingdom for these executions many in the Kingdom have expressed their belief that the practice received widespread local regional and international support.