The kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, announced that it had executed 81 convicted criminals.
The Saturday announcement is the largest mass execution conducted by the country in its modern history — more than the 67 executions reported in all of 2021 and 27 in 2020.
Prior to Saturday, the largest mass execution in the country’s history since 1980 was in 2016 when 47 persons were killed.
However, the latest figure surpasses even the 1980 figure when 63 militants were killed in a mass execution.
According to Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the 81 individuals were convicted of terrorism and capital crimes.
It said that the convicts included members of al-Qaeda, ISIS and backers of Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
Of the 81 people killed, 73 were Saudi citizens, seven were Yemeni and one was a Syrian national.
“These individuals, totaling 81, were convicted of various crimes including murdering innocent men, women and children,” SPA said, citing a statement from the interior ministry.
