Iran Decries Saudi Mass Executions

In a statement on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh said the mass execution of people in Saudi Arabia contravened the basic principles of human rights and international law, violated humanitarian principles and accepted legal procedures, and was carried out without observing fair judicial proceedings.

He said the executions and uncontrolled violence are no solution to self-made crises and the Saudi government cannot abuse common terms to cover up political and judicial turmoil and crackdown on people, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported.

Khatibzadeh also referred to double standards adopted by the Western governments and their instrumental use of the concept of human rights.

Condemning the silence and inaction of the self-proclaimed defenders of human rights in the face of such actions, he described it as a sign of hypocrisy on the part of these governments that serves their purpose to exploit the issue of human rights for political purposes and satisfy their political greed against independent countries.

His remarks came after the state-run Saudi Press Agency said in an announcement on Saturday that Saudi Arabia had executed 81 prisoners in a single day over ‘terror-related offenses,’ in the largest mass execution carried out by the highly-conservative Arab kingdom in recent memory.