Saudi Arabia abolishes flogging
Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment, the supreme court announced, hailing the latest in a series of "human rights advances" made by the king and his powerful son.
Court-ordered floggings in Saudi Arabia -- sometimes extending to hundreds of lashes -- have long drawn condemnation from human rights groups.
But they say the headline legal reforms overseen by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have brought no let-up in the conservative Islamic kingdom's crushing of dissent, including through the use of the death penalty.
The Saudi supreme court said the latest reform was intended to "bring the kingdom into line with international human rights norms against corporal punishment".
Previously the courts could order the flogging of convicts found guilty of offences ranging from extramarital sex and breach of the peace to murder.
In future, judges will have to choose between fines and/or jail sentences, or non-custodial alternatives like community service, the court said in a statement seen by AFP on Saturday.
The most high-profile instance of flogging in recent years was the case of Saudi blogger Raif Badawi who was sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes in 2014 for "insulting" Islam. He was awarded the European parliament's Sakharov human rights prize the following year.
The abolition of corporal punishment in Saudi Arabia comes just days after the kingdom's human rights record was again in the spotlight following news of the death from a stroke in custody of leading activist Abullah al-Hamid, 69.
Hamid was a founding member of the Saudi Civil and Political Rights Association (ACPRA) and was sentenced to 11 years in jail in March 2013, campaigners said.
He was convicted on multiple charges, including "breaking allegiance" to the Saudi ruler, "inciting disorder" and seeking to disrupt state security, Amnesty International said.
Criticism of Saudi Arabia's human rights record has grown since King Salman named his son Prince Mohammed crown prince and heir to the throne in June 2017.
The October 2018 murder of vocal critic Jamal Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul and the increased repression of dissidents at home have overshadowed the prince's pledge to modernise the economy and society.
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Man hurls shoe at Swami Prasad Maurya in Agra, arrested
Agra, May 3: A man hurled a shoe at national president of Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party Swami Prasad Maurya during a rally here on Friday.
The man, identified as Dharmendra Dhakrey, has been and further action is being taken against him, Dauki SHO Rampal Singh said.
A spokesperson of the Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha (ABHM) claimed that Dhakrey is associated with the organisation.
Maurya in February left the Samajwadi Party and formed the Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party.
The incident happened this evening when Maurya was addressing a rally in support of the party candidate from Fatehpur Sikri in Dauki.
Talking to PTI, ABHM spokesperson Sanjay Jaat said, "One of our members hurled a shoe at Maurya when he was delivering his speech in Dauki. We were against the leader over his remarks against Ramcharitmanas.”
Maurya striked a controversy by alleging that certain verses in the Ramcharitmanas, a sacred text in the Awadhi language based on the epic Ramayana, "insult" a large section of the society on the basis of caste and hence, those should be banned.
"We have also written letters in blood and appealed to admit him in a mental asylum for disrespecting the Hindu saints and Ramcharitmanas," Jaat said.
The members of the mahasabha also threw ink on Maurya’s cavalcade and brandished black flags when it was passing from Fatehabad.
The members threw black ink on the cavalcade and chanted 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans.
“We have been following Maurya’s cavalcade from the Fatehabad toll on Agra-Lucknow Expressway. Some of the members protested at Fatehabad and showed black flags when it was passing. Besides, they also threw ink on his car,” Jaat said.
While leaving the party, Maurya accused the SP leadership of discriminating against him and not defending him over his statements on the Ramcharitmanas and the Ayodhya temple consecration ceremony.
He had joined the Samajwadi Party leaving the BJP ahead of the 2022 assembly polls, contesting the elections unsuccessfully from Fazilnagar.
Before joining BJP in 2016, Swami Prasad Maurya was in the BSP and was leader of opposition in the Akhilesh yadav regime.
Recently, Maurya announced to contest the elections from Kushinagar Lok Sabha seat.
#WATCH | In Fatehabad, Agra, a youth threw a shoe at Swami Prasad Maurya, the National President of the Rashtriya Shoshit Samaj Party. Maurya narrowly escaped the attack, and the police arrested the accused youth.#agra #Fatehabad #UP #SwamiPrasadMaurya #viralvideo #ABPLive pic.twitter.com/mIKsoLamue
— ABP LIVE (@abplive) May 3, 2024
