While large sections of the international community berated Saudi Arabia for last weekend's mass executions, the UK government attracted criticism from human rights activists after officials in London labeled the executions "disappointing" while Prime Minister David Cameron failed to condemn Riyadh for its actions.
While British diplomats have been encouraged to publicly condemn countries like the US, China and Iran for their use of the death penalty, the approach seems to differ for Saudi Arabia, with foreign office minister Tobias Ellwood telling parliament he thought it was better for British diplomats to lobby Saudi officials "privately" rather than in public.
Concern Over Increase in Executions
The Saudi executions in brief pic.twitter.com/MEshTkzSkN
— Mohamed Yehia (@yeh1a) January 3, 2016
According to various estimates from human rights organizations, Saudi Arabia carried out more than 150 executions in 2015, a significant increase from the 88 given the death penalty in 2014.
However activists have raised concerns about the actions of other British allies over their continued, and at times, increased use of the death penalty.
According to human rights organization Reprieve, Pakistan hanged 322 people in 2015, making it the third most prolific executioner in the world behind China and Iran.
Press release: Executions surge among UK’s allies – new figures https://t.co/Wrp5TEnPrI #deathpenalty
— Reprieve (@Reprieve) January 6, 2016
Reprieve says the increase in executions in Pakistan is particularly concerning given the country only reinstated the death penalty in December 2014.
Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's death penalty team, said there was a concerning trend surrounding rising rates of state executions.
"Over the last year execution rates accelerated dramatically in both Iran and Saudi Arabia, while Pakistan embarked on an unprecedented execution spree that saw more than 300 people hanged."
Ms Foa said that in many cases "children, the mentally ill, and people convicted of non-lethal offences" were executed, raising serious human rights concerns.
UK Abandoned Its Fight Against Death Penalty
Despite concerns over the increase in execution rates, Britain has signed security and justice agreements with both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, with critics arguing the UK can do more pressure these countries to stop using the death penalty.
Minister defends UK-Saudi relations amid mounting criticism: @thomasbrake says it was a shamefully weak statement. pic.twitter.com/vc4QKzTzvC
— Steve Beasant (@stevebeasant) January 7, 2016
"Despite these alarming spikes in the use of capital punishment, 2015 saw the British Government abandon its commitment to fight the death penalty overseas, while providing millions in funding for brutal police forces which send non-lethal offenders to death row."
While the exact number of people sentenced to death is considered to be a state secret in many countries, international researchers have suggested that China topped the list of executions in 2015, killing over 1,000 people.
Iran is thought to be second on the list for 2015, followed by Pakistan.
