3 Soldiers Executes for ‘cooperating with enemy’ in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has executed three soldiers convicted of “high treason” and “cooperating with the enemy”, with a statement from the kingdom’s defence ministry saying the trio was sentenced to death by a specialist court after a fair trial. The state-run Saudi Press Agency identified the men as soldiers working in the defence ministry. It did not elaborate on how the men aided the kingdom’s enemies.

The ministry named the three soldiers – Mohammed bin Ahmed, Shaher bin Issa and Hamoud bin Ibrahim – without identifying which “enemy” they were accused of aiding. The ministry said the soldiers were executed in the military’s Southern Command, based close to the border with Yemen, where Saudi Arabia is leading a six-year campaign against Iran-alligned Houthi rebels.

The executions come as Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS), the 35-year-old heir to the throne, tightens his control on power. MbS – the son of King Salman, the kingdom’s ageing monarch – is already viewed as the country’s day-to-day ruler, controlling all the major levers of government, from defence to the economy. He holds the title of defence minister, while his younger brother Prince Khalid bin Salman is the deputy.

Over the past three years, the crown prince has mounted a sweeping crackdown on critics and rivals, with the imprisonment of prominent royal family members, business tycoons, clerics and activists. In March last year, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, a brother of King Salman, and the monarch’s nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef were detained, multiple sources said, as the crown prince sought to stamp out traces of internal dissent.

Saudi authorities have not publicly commented on their ongoing detention. Saudi Arabia has come under increasing global scrutiny over its human rights record since the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the kingdom’s Istanbul consulate and the detention of women’s rights activists.

Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have called on Riyadh to stop the use of the death penalty, citing allegations of torture and unfair trials. Saudi Arabia denies the accusations. According to Amnesty figures, Saudi Arabia carried out the world’s third-highest number of executions in 2019.

And Other News , Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for the “worrying” developments in eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region to come to an end after meeting his Ukrainian counterpart in Istanbul, adding Turkey was ready to provide any necessary support. Erdogan and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy held talks in Istanbul on Saturday amid tensions between Kyiv and Moscow over the long-running conflict in Donbass.

Speaking at a news conference alongside Zelenskyy, Erdogan said he hoped the conflict would be resolved peacefully, through dialogue based on diplomatic customs, in line with international laws and Ukraine’s territorial integrity. “Our main goal is that the Black Sea continues to be a sea of peace, tranquility and cooperation,” Erdogan said. Zelenskyy said the views of Kyiv and Ankara coincided regarding the threats in the region and as well as responses to those threats. Erdogan stressed that Turkey’s cooperation with Ukraine in the defence industry, which was the main item on the meeting’s agenda, was not a move against any third countries.

Zelenskyy’s visit to Turkey comes amid renewed tensions in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists have been fighting since 2014. In a visit to troops there this week, Zelenskyy said breaches of a July truce were increasing. Separatist authorities have also accused Ukrainian forces of violating the ceasefire. Russia has reinforced its troops along the border and warned Ukraine against trying to retake control of the separatist-controlled territory.

Kyiv rejects that it is preparing for an offensive. The Russian military buildup has raised concerns in the United States and Europe. The Turkish and Russian presidents spoke on the phone on Friday. Among the issues discussed was Ukraine. The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin expressed concern that Ukraine “recently resumed dangerous provocations on the contact line”. Turkey is a NATO member. But Erdogan and Putin have forged a close personal relationship, sealing energy and trade deals.

They have also negotiated for opposing sides in conflicts, including Syria, Libya and Nagorno-Karabakh. Erdogan’s office also said he would discuss with Zelenskyy the living conditions of Crimean Tatars, who have ethnic links to Turks. Moscow annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014.