Moments Before the Execution

JEDDAH, 8 March 2003 — When Friday prayers are said, police form a cordon around the audience gathered in the large square beside Al-Jafali Mosque in the Al-Balad district of this city.

In the center of the square, flanked by the imam, the prison warden and a few police officers, kneels the prisoner. He faces the victim’s family, who are waiting for him to die. He may beg them to forgive him. They may choose to do so.

The crowd shouts at the prisoner, reminding him of his Shahada, or at the victim’s family, asking for forgiveness.

The prisoner is examined by a doctor, and most of the time he is given a sedative to help him get a hold of himself. Across the square, the prisoner’s family are weeping and begging the victim’s family to forgive. A medical team and Red Crescent ambulances are standing by.

The prisoner now recites verses from the Qur’an while a government official reads the charges and the verdict. Halfway through the reading the executioner suddenly nicks the back of the prisoner’s neck with his sword, causing him to tense and raise his head involuntarily.

Then, in one swift move, the executioner separates the prisoner’s head from his body. Several spectators faint, and the executioner is pulled from the scene lest he get carried away and injure someone else with his sword.

This is the scenario unless the victim’s family forgive the prisoner at the last minute, in which case the atmosphere all of a sudden changes to the joy one might expect at a wedding, with people cheering and blessing the family.

The reaction of the spectators can vary widely. At the execution of three men for murder, the family of the victim were screaming hysterically for the loss of their father. The audience shouted at the executioner: “Kill these criminals. Take off their heads. God bless you.” There was a common feeling of anger toward the three killers, and each time the executioner took off a head, the shout went up: “Allahu Akbar (God is great).”

On another occasion the victim’s father delighted the audience seconds before the execution by walking into the middle of the square and announcing that he forgave the prisoner.

Execution by sword is usually reserved for men, while women are shot. However, in areas where there are no swordsmen, men may also be executed by bullet. When execution is by sword, the prisoner’s head must be separated completely from the body. Usually this only takes one attempt, though it can take two or three.

If the prisoner is shot, two bullets are used, one to the heart and one to the neck. In preparation, doctors mark the area where the bullets should hit.

Statistics show that between 2000 and 2002, 43 executions were carried out, 33 of them on Saudis. Two women were executed, one Saudi and one Indonesian. All the executions were for murder.

Director General of Prisons Gen. Dr. Ali Al-Harthi would not reveal details of prisoners awaiting execution in a recent wide-ranging interview in Okaz newspaper, from where the above information was taken. “Usually I ask: Is there any use in publishing your story?” he said. “Some newspapers are looking for excitement. That is your right. But the Kingdom is under attack from human rights organizations for enforcing God’s law, and they are ignoring human rights issues elsewhere. There are therefore some issues that I don’t want to discuss at the moment.

“While we are talking about these matters, I would like to increase awareness; that is to say, awareness among people not to let their anger lead them into killing others. It is not worth risking your life for one moment of blind fury. We must be patient and not allow the devil to drive us to murder.

“A murderer’s reward is the sword — not counting the psychological pain he suffers because he ended another person’s life. We have to use our minds and remember the words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) who said three times: ‘Do not be angry.’

“The punishment for drug dealing is also death,” he added. “I ask every drug dealer, is it worth putting your life at risk for money?”