THE SNP have urged the UK to stop selling arms to Saudi Arabia after there was widespread condemnation of the kingdom for carrying out 47 executions at the weekend.
MP Margaret Ferrier hit out at Prime Minister David Cameron and said: “These latest executions are to be condemned and it is deeply troubling that capital punishment is on the rise in Saudi.
“There are six young men still awaiting execution, each arrested as juveniles. They are languishing in terrible conditions in solitary confinement. The imposition of the juvenile death penalty is particularly abhorrent, and their punishment is a clear breach of their human rights.
“The UK simply cannot continue to turn a blind eye. Last year, the Ministry of Justice was pressured into pulling out of a £6 million prison contract with the kingdom because of concerns over human rights. Regardless, the UK Government seems content in selling billions of pounds’ worth of weapons to a country with an horrific human rights record.”
The call came as it was revealed arms sales from the UK have not been subject to scrutiny for over nine months after the watchdog on the export of weapons and military equipment ceased work.
The committee on arms export controls fell silent after chairman Sir John Stanley retired in March after 15 years at its helm and has not yet been reconvened.
MPs and campaigners are anxious that the lack of scrutiny is allowing arms exports to continue despite concerns about human rights abuses in the destination countries, such as Saturday’s beheadings.
It is not the first time Cameron has been criticised for his close relationship with the oil-rich nation.
It was revealed he spent over £100,000 of taxpayers money in October to charter a private jet to the funeral of King Abdullah. During an interview with Jon Snow that same month, Cameron claimed that the Government work with Saudi Arabia due to the crucial anti-terror intelligence they receive from the country.
Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said Saudi Arabia and Daesh are “two sides of the same coin”, adding that it is “utterly shameful” that Cameron hasn’t spoken out against Saturday’s beheadings.
He said: “Saudi Arabia and Isis are two sides of the same coin. They are motivated by the same extremist ideology, they use the same barbaric methods like beheadings. In British government policy we are against Daesh but allied with Saudi Arabia. It doesn’t make sense and it is completely immoral.”
One of the 47 executed prisoners, who were charged with “terrorist offences”, was Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. The execution of the cleric sparked outrage in neighbouring Iran. Protesters also stormed the Saudi embassy in Iran on Saturday night and set fire to the building.
US president Barack Obama has also been quiet in the aftermath of the killings by the West’s allies in the Middle East, although the State Department did express their “concerns”.
Foreign Office Minister Tobias Ellwood said: “I am deeply disturbed by the escalation in tensions in the last 24 hours in the Middle East.
“The UK is firmly opposed to the death penalty. We have stressed this to the Saudi authorities and also expressed our disappointment at the mass executions.”
The Middle East minister said he expected the kingdom’s government not to carry out the death sentence imposed on the cleric’s nephew Ali al-Nimr, who was just 17 when he was told he faced crucifixion over his role in the Arab Spring protests in 2012.
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