사우디아라비아의 형법과 인권 논쟁: 사형(死刑)과 체형(體刑)을 중심으로

The Penal Law in Saudi Arabia and the Controversies on the Human Rights: Focusing on Death Penalty and Corporal Punishment

This paper amis to deal with the human rights problems in the criminal justice system in Saudi Arabia focusing on the death penalty and corporal punishment. It also attempts to analyze the reasons why many international human rights organizations say that Shri‘a is not compatible with the modern human right concept. Lastly it tries to suggest measures the Saudi government should take to improve human rights conditions. In 2015 Saudi Arabia was the country with the third highest number of executions in the world after China and Iran. According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia executed at least 158 people (four women and 154 men) in 2015, the highest number of executions recorded in the country since 1995. If we classify the 158 executions by types, two important facts are discovered like following: First, of the 158 executions, 46.8% have been executed for alleged non-violent offences. According to international law and standards, like the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the death penalty should be limited on the “most serious crimes”, a term which has been most recently interpreted to mean “intentional killing”. Saudi Arabia, however, continues to apply the death penalty to a wide range of non-lethal crimes that do not meet the threshold of the “most serious crimes” under international law. These include drug-related crimes, armed robbery, kidnapping, and rape. Saudi Arabia also continues to apply the death penalty to “offences” that are not recognizably criminal offences under international law. These include apostasy, adultery, witchcraft and sorcery. Second, of the 158 executions, 46.2% were foreign nationals, which means that Saudi Arabia used the death penalty disproportionately on foreign nationals. The majority of executed foreign nationals were migrant workers with no knowledge of Arabic – the language in which they were questioned while in detention and in which trial proceedings were carried out. Foreign nationals were often denied adequate interpretation assistance during interrogations and trials. Their country’s embassies and consulates were not promptly informed of their arrest, or even of death sentences and executions. Many international organizations point out also that the methods of execution and corporal punishments in Saudi Arabia violate human dignity. In Saudi Arabia the death penalty can be carried out by stoning and public beheading with a sword, sometimes followed by crucifixion. Saudi Arabia is also one of approximately thirty three countries in the world with judicial corporal punishment. In Saudi Arabia this includes amputations of hands and feet for robbery, and flogging for lesser crimes such as sexual deviance and drunkenness. International organizations say that these methods of punishment violate the U.N. Convention Against Torture(CAT) and breach the right of all human beings to dignity at the hands of the state. The Saudi Authorities, however, deny the above mentioned facts, mentioning that they are misconceived allegations resulting from the ignorance of the real meaning of the Shari‘a. They insist that obedience and compliance with Ḥudūd punishments are the religious duties of the Muslims and that severe punishments were intended to deter crimes and vices, and to maintain the community and protect it from mischief and vices.