Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has ordered the abolition of flogging

Saudi Arabia, Ta. 26 April 2020, Sunday

Saudi Arabia has abolished the much-discussed flogging sentence. The Saudi Supreme Court ordered the sentence to be overturned during a ruling. The country's human rights commission praised the Saudi king and his son's decision, calling it a "big step." The apex court had asked for imprisonment or fine from now on instead of flogging.

Hundreds of floggings were often handed down in Saudi courts in certain cases that have been criticized by human rights groups around the world. The country's human rights commission said the amendment ensured that no convict would now be flogged. According to the commission's chairman, Awad al-Awdna, "this decision guarantees that those who were previously flogged will now be sentenced to prison or fine instead."

Earlier, Saudi courts had the power to flog those convicted of adultery or murder, but from now on, they would have to choose between non-custody options such as prison sentences or community service.

Blogger Badawi's case discussed

The flogging in Saudi Arabia has drawn worldwide opposition, but in recent years the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi has been the most talked about. Badawi was sentenced in 2014 to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for insulting Islam. The blogger was honored with the European Parliament's Sakharov Human Rights Prize.

Abdullah al-Hamid, a 69-year-old prominent Saudi activist, died of a stroke in custody recently, and questions have been raised about human rights abuses in the country. Apart from that, the Saudi King was heavily criticized in October 2018 after the brutal assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi embassy in Istanbul.