Saudi Arabia abolishes flogging as punishment

Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment, according to the document released by the Kingdom's top court.

Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a punishment, according to the document released by the Kingdom's top court. As per Al Jazeera, the court said the human rights advances are part of reforms introduced by King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The court said the latest measure was brought in to steer the Saudi government into line with international rights norms against corporal punishments. This decision comes in the backdrop of years of criticism the Kingdom faced, for its legal system from several human rights organizations.

Prior to the reform, convicts found guilty of offenses ranging from extramarital sex, and breach of the peace to murder was reprimanded with flogging. "If the Saudi government is serious about legal reform, they should start by releasing all of the political and human rights prisoners they have been holding in their prisons for years. The government should also abolish the death penalty, including the practice of executing juveniles," Aliaa Abutayah, a London-based Saudi political activist and an opposition leader, told Al Jazeera. (ANI)