Five of the 37 men beheaded in Saudi Arabia ‘confessed’ to being gay
It was reported that the confessions were fabricated through torture
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
Five of the 37 men beheaded in Saudi Arabia were gay, according to a confession heard by the Sharia law court.
Several days ago, the Muslim-majority country caused outrage following a mass execution of the men, who were mainly minority Shia Muslims.
Following the mass execution, human rights groups called out the country and claimed the conffessions of terrorism and spying were obtained through torture.
And now, one of the men allegedly admitted to having sex with four of his co-accused ‘terrorists’.
Homosexuality is punishable by death in the country – which is run by King Salman- and the court document obtained by CNN says the man allegedly confessed to gay acts and hating the majority Sunni sect.
It reads: “He said that he did all this because he belonged to the Shia sect and because he was against the Sunni sect and because of his hate for the state and its men and security forces.”
The unnamed man reportedly denied any charges against him and his lawyer said the confession was a fabrication.
The executions were carried out in the cities of Riyadh, Mecca and Medina. One of the men had his body and severed head pinned to a pole in a public square.
Among the men executed including Shiite religious leader Sheikh Mohammed al-Attiyah who had preached for peace.
Mutjaba al-Sweikat was only 23 at the time of his death after he was arrested when he was 17 as he headed to the US to study at university.
The youngest to die was Abdulkarim al-Hawaj who was only 21 and was accused to spreading information about protests on WhatsApp.
Another man, Hussein Mohammed al-Musallam, told the court: “Nothing in these confessions is correct and I cannot prove that I was forced to do it.
“But medical reports show the effects of torture on my body.”