Dr. Walid Al Samaani Saudi Minister of Justice revealed that the convicts sentenced to death had a fair trial during which all judicial guarantees to ensure justice were implemented.

The minister explained that the judiciary in his country is “institutional and impartial” and its provisions and regulations are based on the Islamic Sharia that “restores rights, brings offenders to justice and relieves the oppressed”, as it is independent and nothing but the Islamic law has power over it, that which has been confirmed by the established laws of the Kingdom and assured by its rulers.

The Minister of Justice said judiciary has legal bases that govern the criminalization and punishment from the criminal point of view.

He added that the rulings of Saudi Arabia’s judiciary undertake the basics of legal prosecution and the incident’s correct adaptation standards without prejudice against or with the suspect’s intellectual, racial or sectarian belongingness as per Islamic Sharia principles of equality and justice among litigants.

Dr. Al-Samaani drew the attention to the fact that he would increasingly be sad to see bloodshed and mosques demolished by groups and organizations who adopt Takfeer (expiation) as a methodology and crime-committing as a daily-behavior, a flagrant breach of the teachings of Islam which prevents harming not only humans but also animals.

For his part, Secretary General and Official Spokesman of the Supreme Judicial Council Sheikh Salman Al-Nashwan pointed out, that the convicts, with everything they did, were given their right to defend themselves in fair public trials in the presence of stakeholders and the right to counsel, the government appointed attorneys to those who couldn’t afford it. In other words, they were given all the necessary judicial guarantees.

He also explained that some of the trials took more than ten years and went through all stages and levels of litigation and it was possible for all to object to sentences as prescribed by the rules.