RIYADH — Minister of Justice and Chairman of the Supreme Judiciary Council Sheikh Walid Al-Samaani issued a circular to all courts across the Kingdom to implement the decision of the Supreme Court to abolish flogging as a form of punishment. The minister cited in the circular the Supreme Court's decision instructing all courts to pronounce jail term or fine or of both as penalties as an alternative to flogging in line with the regulations issued by the higher authorities. Meanwhile, President of the Human Rights Commission Dr. Awwad Al-Awwad has welcomed the announcement made by the Justice Minister Al-Samaani. "The Ministry of Justice's announcement today implementing the end of flogging as a form of discretionary punishment makes good on another promised reform in Saudi Arabia," Al-Awwad said. This reform is a strong sign of the Kingdom's commitment to make all of its judicial practices adhere to the highest international standards, and improve the quality of life for its citizens and residents." Despite the hardship imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia has pushed forward with several critical human rights advancements. Just days after the Supreme Court's decision to effectively end flogging in April, the Kingdom issued a royal decree ending the application of the death penalty for individuals convicted of crimes committed while they were minors. "The Human Rights Commission is focused on ensuring that announcements of human rights reforms come to fruition," Al-Awwad said. "We welcome another step in the Kingdom's advancement of real human rights reforms as a part of its Vision 2030 modernization agenda," he added. The General Commission for the Saudi Supreme Court recently took the landmark decision to end flogging as a form of punishment and to replace it by prison sentences, fines or of both. The minister's circular clarified that this principle was approved after examination of the matter and its impacts by the commission in accordance with the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court contained in Article 13 of the Judicial System that governs the jurisdictions of the commission. This reform was widely regarded as a momentous step forward in Saudi human rights agenda and one of many recent reforms carried out in the Kingdom. Flogging was used to punish people for a variety of crimes in the Kingdom particularly in cases in which individual judges had the latitude to interpret religious texts and come up with their own sentences. In a related development, Saudi Arabia recently decided to abolish death penalty for individuals convicted of crimes committed while they were minors. The royal decree issued in this regard stipulates that any individual who received a death sentence for crimes committed while he or she is a minor can no longer face execution.
