Share
CNN
The Chilling Message of the Saudi Executions
A couple of weeks have passed since the dramatic beheadings of 37 Saudi citizens that shocked the world.
According to Human Rights Watch, at least 33 of those who were executed were from the minority Shia community — which has suffered a long history of persecution in Saudi Arabia.
With the Kingdom facing mounting criticism over bombing deaths and starvation in the Yemen war, imprisoned and reportedly tortured women activists, and the grisly murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi, many wonder why Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud offered critics another human rights issue? But these executions served a clear purpose — to strike fear in the Saudi Shia population while rallying the royal family’s ultra-conservative Wahhabi — the official creed of the Kingdom — fundamentalist base. In the end, to be Shia in Saudi Arabia has always been a complicated affair.
By Terence Ward | 8 May 2019
RELATED TOPICS:
Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog
12 hours ago
Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies
12 hours ago
Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’
13 hours ago
The Many Names of GOP Vice Presidential Nominee JD Vance
13 hours ago
Companies Cut Prices to Boost Sales, Consumers Respond
14 hours ago
Warner Bros. Discovery Sues NBA for Not Accepting Its Matching Offer
15 hours ago
CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled
7 mins ago
Categories
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/26104129/021624-California-Forever-LE-CM-29.jpg-1024x576.jpg)
CA Has Seen Many New Towns, but This Big Project Is Stalled
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/26170645/Gage-Mason-20-was-sentenced-to-29-years-in-state-prison-for-sexually-assaulting-multiple-children-and-a-dog-and-will-also-be-required-to-register-as-a-sex-offender-1024x538.jpg)
Fresno Man Sentenced to 29 Years for Sexually Assaulting Children and Dog
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/26161707/Tommy-Hopfe-with-the-Colorado-Rockies_1280X720-1024x576.jpg)
Bulldogs’ Two-Position Standout Tommy Hopfe Signs With Rockies
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/26145457/image-2024-07-26T145350.189-1024x576.jpeg)
Former Bulldog QB Jake Haener: I Have a ‘Rare Form of Skin Cancer’
![](https://gvwire.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/26154603/Republican-vice-presidential-candidate-Sen.-JD-Vance-R-Ohio-speaks-at-a-campaign-rally-July-22-2024-in-Radford-Va.-Vance-introduced-himself-to-the-world-in-2016-when-he-published-his-bestse-1024x538.jpg)