One of the US's key allies in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, like " Islamic State", lives according to Sharia law. Persecution of infidels and sorcerers, public floggings and beheadings for edification are everyday life in the monarchy. With the complete indifference of the West.

The US and EU call his “bloody regime” one of the main reasons for the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. In particular, great outrage was caused by the government's dispersal of protest participants in 2011, thanks to which the country managed to avoid a coup. The police dispersed the rioters, who succumbed to the influence of the Arab Spring, with the help of weapons. Since then, Western politicians have insisted that Assad belongs at the head of the country.

Iran is also considered to be part of the “axis of evil,” where the death penalty is still practiced. But another major player in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia, remains the main ally. Although, when it comes to human rights violations, the Saudis could give both Syria and Iran a head start. And the recent execution of a Shiite preacher, which caused an escalated confrontation between Riyadh and Tehran, is just the beginning.

In Saudi Arabia, executions are carried out frequently and in large numbers, writes Lenta.ru. There are plenty of reasons for this: sexual contact outside of marriage, atheism, conversion from Islam to another religion, homosexuality, gambling, alcohol and even witchcraft. And if at the same time you end up in prison, you are very lucky. Most often, punishment involves beating with a whip, cutting off hands or head.

The entire justice system is built on a religious foundation. The dominant religion is Islam, the dominant confession is Sunnism, the dominant religious movement- Wahhabism. In Saudi Arabia, as in the Islamic State*, with which the kingdom is officially at war, Sharia law applies.

For accusation or acquittal, a simple oath is often enough. A lawyer is considered an unnecessary luxury. Executions of minors and mentally ill persons are allowed. According to Sharia law, a judge can impose three types of punishment: qisas (allows payment for damage done in money), hadd (usually involves public lashings) and tazir (from a lecture to beheading followed by crucifixion).

Perhaps the most effective method is cutting off the head. It is held publicly, with a large crowd of people. After execution, the body of the criminal is usually put on public display, most often crucified, as a warning to others.

For those who like to drink, play in the casino, walk around in a short top, and even publicly express their feelings - it’s better not to set foot here. For all this you can lose your head.

At the same time, oddly enough, homosexuality is widespread in Saudi Arabia. Many homosexuals even call Riyadh a “gay paradise.” The fact is that strict laws Sharia law, which prohibits sexual contact between a man and a woman outside of marriage, pushes young men to look for a partner among their own kind. Therefore, homosexuality by mutual consent or in the form of rape has become long-standing problem Saudi educational institutions, where students are divided by gender. Moreover, as a rule, those against whom violence is committed—the “passives”—are subject to public censure. “Activity” in this sense is perceived as a manifestation of masculinity, and therefore the law often turns a blind eye to such crimes.

But here, as in the Middle Ages, they fight witchcraft decisively and uncompromisingly. The accusation, as a rule, is based on reports from vigilant neighbors or subordinates. For these purposes, a special hotline. The sentence is the most severe: beheading and subsequent crucifixion. At the same time, ordinary migrant workers often become victims of fighters against magic, conspiracies and genies - their status is considered lower than that of native Saudis, and this makes them almost defenseless.

All this is a long time ago known facts, which the Saudi authorities do not hide and do not intend to soften their legal system. Many Western human rights activists are outraged, but not politicians. Against the backdrop of Riyadh’s help in dumping oil prices or sponsoring “moderate” rebels in Syria, in the eyes of the West, the Saudi regime apparently does not look bloody enough to impose the vaunted American “democracy” here.

*"Islamic State" (IS) is an organization banned in the Russian Federation

Ekaterina Alonova

Large, oil-rich middle eastern country, which borders Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq and Jordan, Saudi Arabia is the most influential power on the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia is the “Land of the Two Holy Mosques,” home to the oldest Islamic cities, and one of the few states with an absolute monarchy. She is the only one with access to the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf. The kingdom is, of course, beautiful, but its traditions of treating women and the use of the death penalty are controversial issues for the whole world. Saudi Arabia also leads the leadership of the OPEC oil cartel, which has enormous influence over the global oil market.
One day the Kingdom armedly invaded civil war in Yemen, supporting the government against Houthi militants. But outside help does not exclude the presence of its own problems: lower oil prices, internal political differences and attempts to diversify the economy. In the West's understanding, this country is an anachronism, where the fundamentalist interpretation of Islam is absolute law, and where women are prohibited from driving. But on the other hand, here are the roots great history and cultures to which millions of Muslims flock annually for the Hajj pilgrimage and vast oil fields.
Here are 15 amazing facts about the oil Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:
15. NO ELECTIONS, PARLIAMENT, POLITICAL PARTIES AND DISSENT

It reigns here absolute monarchy, there are no national elections, political parties and representative parliament, there is only a symbolic advisory body, the Majlis al-Shura, or Consultative Assembly, which has no power to make laws or enforce them. This open disregard for democratic norms has been going on for decades. Along with the harshest dictatorships, Saudi Arabia regularly receives the lowest civil and political freedoms from think tanks like Freedom House.
There is no constitution, although the charter known as the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia, adopted by royal decree in 1992, obliges the monarch to rule by observing Sharia law and the Koran instead of the constitution. Under strict ban criticism and dissent: activists are regularly jailed and sentenced cruel punishments. Examples: Abd al-Karim, who demanded a transition to constitutional monarchy and blogger Raif Badawi, who received 8 years in prison for this, received 1000 lashes for calling for freedom of speech.
14. HOUSE OF THE HOLY ISLAMIC CITIES


Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and the holiest religious sites - Mecca and Medina. The 13-meter-tall Kaaba is the holiest place in the Great Mosque of Mecca, Islam's holiest mosque. All Muslims direct their prayers to her. One of the five pillars of Islam requires that every Muslim make a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in his life, if he has the strength and finances to do so. Approximately two million people visit Saudi Arabia every year.
It is easy to guess that a large concentration of pilgrims in one place can lead to serious problems, such as the 2015 stampede, which reportedly killed and injured more than 2,000 people.
13. THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH EXECUTIONERS FOR ALL EXECUTIONS


The death penalty is widespread in Saudi Arabia. In 2015, the authorities held them every other day. The country ranks 4th in the world in the number of executions, carried out for reasons such as adultery and rejection of Islam. In most cases, execution is carried out by cutting off the head with a scimitar. The kingdom may be the only country suffering from a shortage of executioners: in early 2013, the government considered changing its execution method due to a lack of executioners. The method of execution is considered priority.
In addition, Saudi Arabia is one of only four countries that still has public executions. Diera Square in the center of Riyadh is a famous site for public beheadings, known locally as “chop-chop square.”
12. HUGE OIL RESERVES


What words come to mind when you think of Saudi Arabia? Since the Kingdom is largest exporter petroleum raw materials, its name is synonymous with everything related to oil and gas. More than half of GDP comes from profits from the oil industry. Oil reserves are simply unreal: the largest Gavar field can accommodate 4,770,897 Olympic swimming pools. It is estimated that even after decades of pumping oil for export, there are still about 75 billion barrels left.
Saudi Arabia has 22 percent of the world's oil reserves, only Venezuela has more. In 1960, the Kingdom was a founding member of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. Due to the large oil industry, 30 percent of the country's population are foreign workers.
11. THE LARGEST COUNTRY WITHOUT A SINGLE RIVER


Saudi Arabia's area of ​​more than 2 million square kilometers puts it 13th in the world in terms of territorial size. More than 95 percent are deserts and semi-deserts, many of which are the largest on earth (Great Nefud in the north and Rub al-Khali in the south). Due to the abundance of deserts and average temperature At about 45 degrees Celsius, there are no rivers or lakes in Saudi Arabia, but there are underground reservoirs.
This is the most big country Middle East, it is most The Arabian Peninsula (about a quarter of the United States) is the largest territorial entity in the world without a single river on the map.
10. THE ROYAL FAMILY IS WORTH $14 TRILLION


As heads of the House of Saud, the monarch and thousands of his royal relatives occupy all important posts Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The royal power of this country would have been the object of desire of any medieval court; King Salman's net worth is estimated at more than $17 billion, and more than 7,000 family princes (some estimates put the royalty at around 30,000) hold important positions while more talented candidates are left out due to the wrong surname.
The royal family receives huge profits from the state oil monopoly, estimated at about 270 billion a year.
In fact, if you imagine all the wealth royal family Saudi Arabia in a single amount, it would be about 14 trillion dollars.
9. SEVERE PUNISHMENTS

We've already mentioned the harsh laws of Saudi Arabia, what about the punishments? It turns out they are no better: the legal system uses the same ultra-conservative and traditionalist Hanbali school as the basis of jurisprudence as the terrorist Islamic State. The trial takes place solely on the basis certain interpretation Islamic law.
Punishments by the authorities included cutting off hands and feet for theft, lashing and stoning for adultery and other acts, and beheading for rebellion, political crimes, drug smuggling and witchcraft. Death sentences are also imposed for blasphemy, homosexuality and violent robbery. Saudi Arabia is not responding to ever-increasing pressure to liberalize its legal system and invariably applies punishments and death penalties.
8. DANGEROUS QUIRK “SIDEWALK SKIING”


It's pretty daring fun, fraught with a “funny” danger. The trick consists of driving on two wheels on one side of a car along the roadway, during which a person climbs onto the car and stands on top of it throughout the movement. Fans of this entertainment treat it with purely sporting interest, but this is one of the most useless and dangerous inventions that humanity has ever produced.
In one video, a team of similar “stuntmen” gets out of a car to change its tire. All this happens on the go. To say "Don't try this at home" is an understatement.
7. TENT SETTLEMENT


Initially, pilgrims took tents with them on their journey and set them up on the plains of Mina. In the 1990s, the Saudi Arabian government made it easier for religious tourists housing issue by setting up a campsite with regular cotton tents. But in 1997, a fire occurred in the settlement, which claimed the lives of 350 pilgrims. After which a new camp with fire-resistant awnings was organized. The city of Mina has 100,000 neat fireproof tents with air conditioning, kitchen and bathroom. In essence, this is a modern residential complex.
The state-of-the-art tents can accommodate approximately 3 million people. About 5 days a year they are occupied by pilgrims, and the rest of the time they are empty. The kingdom received a barrage of global criticism after refusing to accommodate Syrian refugees there.
6. PROBLEM WITH WOMEN'S LINGERIE


Women are effectively prohibited from working outside the home. This causes awkward situations, such as when the salesperson in the lingerie department is a man. Confused women, who could not make intimate purchases because of this, made an attempt to change the law. They were listened to, and in 2012 a decree was issued prohibiting men from working in women's underwear stores.
But the decree contradicted Sharia, which is why about a hundred stores ignored the innovation. A few months after the law came into force, they were closed. The decree is still in effect, and various inspections regularly monitor its implementation. If a male seller is found, the stores are threatened with closure.
5. THEY HAVE “MAGIC POLICE”


In Saudi Arabia, everything that is directly or indirectly related to magic, witchcraft and sorcery is prohibited. It is considered a serious crime and people have even been beheaded for allegedly practicing magic. The government takes the magical threat so seriously that it has even banned the Harry Potter books and created special anti-witch police units. Created in 2009, the anti-witchcraft group is part of the Committee for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Disorder of the Saudi Religious Police. They are tasked with detaining sorcerers and preventing their spells. Since 2009 for the practice of magic to criminal liability More than 500 people were involved.
People allegedly whispering spells, performing rituals, or caught with talismans can get into very serious trouble. But the issue of witchcraft is very subtle, because the original and generally accepted characteristics of witches are as follows: they have a broom on which they fly. Saudi Arabia's legal code leaves the decision to the judge, who must determine whether a person is guilty of witchcraft and whether he will receive the death penalty.
4. IN THE FUTURE, THE COUNTRY WITH THE TALLEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD


The most awaited event for all people globe– construction of “The Most tall building in the world". On this moment this position is held by the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. In 2018, the Jeddah Tower in Saudi Arabia, also known as Royal Tower. It will be the first building in history to reach a kilometer in height and will be the glittering centerpiece of Saudi Arabia's new coastal city. To imagine what this would look like, imagine the World shopping mall in New York (541 meters) - this is a little more than half the estimated height of the Royal Tower.
Once completed, the tower will contain a hotel, an observatory, offices and obscenely expensive penthouses. Preliminary cost: $1.2 billion. Now the project is called “the limit of engineering possibilities.”
3. WOMEN'S RIGHTS ARE EVEN WORSE THAN YOU THOUGHT


Before traveling to Saudi Arabia, it is strongly recommended that you familiarize yourself with its laws. IN Lately women's rights in Persian Gulf were the subject social confrontation. It is now the last country on earth where women are not allowed to drive. This fact attracts representatives of funds everywhere mass media. This is just the tip of the iceberg; without a man's permission, women are prohibited from leaving the house, making purchases, opening a bank account, getting a job, going to school, acting in a legal or other official capacity, or consenting to surgery.
Until recently, women were unable to vote or sit on the advisory chamber, making Saudi Arabia the last country, which gave women the right to vote. Before his death, King Abdullah allocated a fifth of the council chamber to women and allowed them to vote, but this was a largely symbolic gesture that had little impact on the lives of Saudi women.
2. ONE OF THE LARGEST MILITARY BUDGETS IN THE WORLD


For a country of 33 million people, Saudi Arabia's military spending is enormous. The kingdom typically ranks 4th in the world in terms of military spending, behind the United States, China and Russia, and all superpowers have populations and territory many times larger. In 2015, it ranked 3rd, raising its budget from $80 billion to more than $87 billion.
By the way, Saudi Arabia is one of the few countries that has one of the most advanced tanks in the world - the M1 Abrams. There are about several hundred of them. In 2010-2014, the Kingdom was the world's second largest arms importer.
1. IMPORT OF SAND AND CAMELS FROM AUSTRALIA


Yes, that's right: the sand country actually buys its sand from Australia. For what? It turns out that not a single type of Saudi sand is suitable for construction. For the construction of buildings, you need special alluvial sand without silica (it often creates a lot of dust and difficulties for workers when sandblasting). The Kingdom receives sand with the necessary properties wholesale from Australia.
Now about camels. In Saudi Arabia, they are used to transport people and goods, and sometimes for racing. Australia is happy to export its camels, which are wild and vicious in nature. Ironically, camels were first imported to Australia from Arabia, India and Afghanistan in the 19th century.

Anatoly Glazunov (Blockade Survivor) from the book “Sexy Freaks in Russia.”

Shooting, noose cutting off eggs (continued)

Pedophiles are beheaded in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia Banner

Coat of arms of Saudi Arabia

King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia

The country's Constitution and Criminal Code are based on Sharia norms and the tenets of Wahhabism. Crimes that carry the death penalty in Saudi Arabia include: premeditated murder,homosexuality,armed robbery,adultery,rape,religious apostasy, smuggling, trade, possession and use of drugs and the organization of groups opposing the authorities. None political parties not in Saudi Arabia. Thus, sexual crimes fall into the category of very serious crimes. Previously, criminals were stoned to death, but now more often their heads are cut off with a sword. In mild cases, pederasts are sentenced to severe flogging (up to 7 thousand lashes).

In Saudi Arabia, there is a position of state executioner. The position of chief executioner of Mecca is hereditary in the al-Bishi family, and each heir is confirmed to the position by the king himself. Currently, the main executioner is Abdullah ibn Said al-Bishi. Executions in Mecca are carried out in the square in front of the Abdel-Aziz Gate, previously they were carried out in front of the Al-Haram mosque.
In 2002, 47 people were executed (45 men, 2 women), in 2003 - 53 (52 men, 1 woman), in 2004 - 36 (35 men, 1 woman), in 2005 - 90 (88 men, 2 women), in 2006 - 39 people (35 men, 4 women). ...

EXECUTION PROCESS
“The execution process itself in Saudi Arabia is a whole ceremony, the traditions of which have been preserved and expanded over hundreds of years.
All executions take place after midday prayers in the central square. The person condemned to death is brought to the place blindfolded. Law enforcement forces clear the area of ​​cars and passers-by, after which a piece of blue cloth or plastic is spread on the ground.
The muttawa officer (muttawa is the moral police) leads the condemned person to the center of this matter, the condemned person kneels facing Mecca. If the execution takes place in Mecca, face the Kaaba. The police read out the sentence and give the order to carry it out.
The executioner receives the sword from the hands of the police officer, approaches the condemned man from behind, and makes several swings of the sword in the air before cutting off the head. To quickly stop the gushing bleeding, a medic is always present at the execution. The headless body is buried without a coffin or gravestone on the same day.
Until the early 90s, only men were executed in Saudi Arabia, but by the beginning of 2007, 40 women had been executed.
There are entire dynasties of executioners in the country, who, like the al-Bishi family, pass on their work from generation to generation. The death penalty was also reflected in the culture of the Arabs. For example, the popular folk war dance of al-Arda is largely derived from the movements of the executioner.”Funeral portal. Middle East and Asia. http://www.funeralportal.ru/article.php?ObjectId=915 ...

Of course, the pernicious influence from the USA and Western Europe still takes place. The Minister of Health of Saudi Arabia stated on November 12, 2003 that there are more than 6,700 registered HIV-positive residents in the Kingdom. Among them, only 1,509 are citizens of the country. That is, the carriers of the virus are mainly foreigners leading a sadomitic lifestyle. The first case of HIV was reported in Saudi Arabia in 1984. Today, the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia already counts 6,787 HIV-positive people.

In his statement, the head of the country's Epidemiological Control noted that in 95% of cases, HIV infection “becomes a consequence of prohibited sexual relations"By 'prohibited relationships' the organization's representative means 'sexual contacts outside marriage, homosexuality and pedophilia.'
http://www.aids.ru/news/2003/11/12-2202.htm

Photo: Reuters Jamaica lifts moratorium on executions

Opponents of reinstating the death penalty point to the failureaccording to the results opinion polls, a majority of Jamaica's 2.7 million people support the return of the death penalty. 35 deputies spoke in support of the death penalty. 15 voted against, 10 abstained. Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding, under public pressure due to rising crime, also supported the introduction of the death penalty.
Since 1988, Jamaica has had a moratorium on the death penalty, but the Labor Party, which came to power a year ago, insisted on reinstating capital punishment.
According to sociological surveys, the majority of the 2.7 million inhabitants Jamaicans support the return of the death penalty.

How will your first day in Saudi Arabia start?

Friday, noon. A crowd surrounded the center of old Riyadh. The city's main mosque has just finished big prayer al-Juma. A sharp sword, a little more than a meter long, with an Arabic-curved end, forged from steel shining in the sun, is now raised high above the head of a kneeling figure. From under the white clothes that hide the entire body, only the bare neck peeks out. Sixty or more people stood waiting, standing around the perimeter of a wide quadrangular square, guarded by a huddled row of eight soldiers dressed in bronze-colored uniforms.

The executioner, who has raised his sword, takes on menacing proportions and seems somehow mystically ghostly, like a vision, in his long white dishdasha shirt and red checkered keffiyeh bandage. He is ready to make a decisive swing, but suddenly retreats back. He takes a couple of steps away from the chopping block. Quietly conferring with two police officers and one other person - the only person who can stop him: the victim of a criminal sentenced to death.

The short meeting is over. The executioner returns to the block. Puts right leg forward, left - wide back, as if doing a stretch. The raised sword gives a second reflection of the sun. A second - and..!

But the executioner just smoothly lowers the sword onto the neck of the condemned man. Gives him the feel of hardened steel. The criminal's body tenses and freezes in anticipation. The sword swings high again, only this time it’s for real. One precise and powerful blow cuts through skin, muscle and bone with a dull, hollow echo. A bloody waterfall breaks out from the severed neck onto the granite square with a characteristic sound, as if wet underwear squeezed into a steel basin. The headless body leans forward, tumbles slightly and falls on its right side.

The executioner wipes the sword with a piece of white cloth. The crowd parts as two men in blue overalls emerge from the depths of the low arches surrounding the square, lift the body and place it on a stretcher. One of them picks up the head by the piece of cloth in which it was wrapped. The crimes are read out loud: rape, drug trafficking and demonic possession. The executioner sheaths the sword. A thickly bearded man in a soldier's uniform claps his palms and raises them to the sky.

In five minutes, there will be no one left in the square except the cleaner, hosing down the bloody granite with water.

The death penalty is used in many countries. Public capital punishment is popular in only four places on the planet. Well, public capital punishment using the full range of “technologies”, such as: hanging, beheading, stoning, shooting, as well as beheading followed by crucifixion of the body cranes- Applicable only in Saudi Arabia. Iran executes 7 times more people for a year, but even there they manage without cutting off the head. When comparing Saudia and other countries, for some reason this important detail is often forgotten.

Someone writes that recently public executions have stopped being carried out in Saudi Arabia, and the situation is improving. Nothing like this. The wide quadrangular square on which the head of the executed man flew is called Chop-Chop Square by the locals.

Chop-Chop Square is nothing interesting. It's just an empty place in the center of old Riyadh, surrounded by low walls. In one of the adjacent buildings there is the central city mosque. Not far from the square there are court buildings and various ministries. Ideal place for the death penalty.

The architectural complex of the square is completed by the Ministry for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, on the sandy facade of which hangs a poster with the slogan: “My prayer is my happiness.”

On all days except Friday, the square is unremarkable and even boring. Arabs sit at tables in the shade and drink tea, prayers are held in the mosque, and in general it’s very nice to relax under the palm trees in the heat.

On Friday there is a special, long Friday prayer, which is very important for Muslims. Countless crowds of Riyadh residents flock to the nearest mosques from all directions. Everything around the central square is cordoned off by police. Sirens are constantly wailing and dozens of red and blue lights are flashing. It feels like they are not here to protect against a terrorist attack, but as if a terrorist attack has already occurred.

There is no desire to be even close to Chop-Chop Square at this time, let alone even think about going inside. Any non-Muslim is stopped by armed soldiers and carefully searched. Then they let you through.

The author came to watch the death penalty, holding the camera in his bag and turned off - I wouldn’t want to lose it myself for trying to film the beheading. Armed soldiers on the approach to the square checked the bag, looked at each other, said something on the radio and let me through. Then I sat on a bench for half an hour and waited to see what would happen.

A few minutes later the Arabs left, having finished their tea. A police jeep arrived and dropped off the officer on duty a few meters away. Then the jeep drove into sight to the other end of the square, and the soldier remained standing and pretending that he didn’t care about me. The author sat on a bench under the palm trees, arms folded, holding the camera turned off in his bag.

Nothing else happened on the square. No death penalty. But as soon as I got up and walked towards the exit, the soldier immediately stopped me. He asked me to open the bag. I took the camera and turned it on. He asked me to look through the photographs showing the streets of Riyadh. Then he snatched the camera from his hands and began flipping through reverse side, reporting on the radio what he sees in each photograph. Several minutes passed like this until he was convinced that I was not renting the area.

I didn't see the death penalty. They really stopped being held in Chop-Chop Square, but only in this square! In order to avoid crowds of onlookers, the Saudi authorities now carry out beheadings not at the central mosque, but in the place where the crime was committed.

It's incredible how crazy the laws are here. First, the killer is arrested and sent to prison. They are holding a trial. Only one thing can save him from the death penalty - ransom. Often the relatives of the killer and the relatives of the victim agree on a ransom among themselves. As a result, murderers are not always executed, and the heads fly with drug dealers, homosexuals and political dissidents, whom either no one cares about or it is more expensive for them to get involved.

The most important thing: after the trial, if it is possible to establish the crime scene, the victim is taken to this place, wherever it is, and the head is cut off there. Even if it’s right in the middle of the street. For example, like this woman who killed and raped a child, screaming to the end that she was not guilty.

Well, nothing else happens in Chop-Chop Square. Not far from the former scaffold, a city museum was opened in a former fort. Workers and businessmen often come here on weekends, and school excursions are held. Almost none of these “tourists” even know that heads were chopped off a hundred meters later.

Old Riyadh

Masmak Fortress is a beautifully executed remake, a reconstruction of an old fort.

The fortress has a 19th-century Arabic interior restored - boring and meaningless, like all of Arabia.

Model of the old city.

Quotes from King Abdul Aziz hang on the wall: “I conquered this country thanks to the will of Allah and the Arab spirit.”

In the courtyard there is a working copy of the will of Allah.

Interesting characters. They were sniffing out something with some cunning spirit.

Streets behind the fortress.

Next to the fort there is also a market, a typical bazaar like in any third world country. The market sells carpets, clothes and gold.

As soon as I took this harmless photo, the police noticed me. He called me to his car and asked for my passport. I considered a business visa for a long time. Realizing that I was of no use, he made a saddened, downright upset face and in the teacher’s voice kindergarten said:

Andrew... Are you... Taking photographs?.. (Like, aren’t you ashamed, you’re a businessman)
- Yes, I’m just Fort Masmak!
- Ah-ah-ah, well, go, inshallah.

⁂

There is another one a few kilometers from Riyadh historical place- ruins of the old city of Ad-Dir.

Restored ruins, of course.

You can write about them for exactly one reason - it’s surprisingly empty and clumsy, as if you were in a plastic model.

But it must be said that the Arabs restore conscientiously. The doors seem to have been carved by the same master as 200 years ago.

However, it is not necessary to go to the artificial ruins. To tell you a secret, there are plenty of real ruins in the center. I walked around the city for a long time, visiting all the non-tourist places. Hidden behind shabby skyscrapers and a wealthy private sector, Riyadh at its core consists of dirty, shitty streets lined with shabby low-rise buildings.

This is what is happening a hundred meters from Chop-Chop Square.

This is what the real Riyadh looks like. Just like those museum ruins, only for real. The old houses, built of sand and coral, seemed to be washed away by water - only heaps of clay remained, no frame.

Such streets occupy more than half of the city. Riyadh is full of Pakistani neighborhoods that look even worse.

I walked around the whole city; I decided to take the camera out only in a couple of places. After all the Saudi paranoia and two arrests, who knows whether they would have mistaken me for a spy or just a careless fool.

Are they used in modern world executions? Saudi Arabia currently has the most brutal punishment system on earth for crimes.

What penalties apply?

The Criminal Code, as well as the state constitution, dictate Sharia law. This country is the only one in the world that still practices torture, public lashing, and execution by hanging or beheading. Public executions in Saudi Arabia will shock Europeans, but for local population this is common.

The official profession here is “executioner”. He has the status of a civil servant.

In addition to cutting off the head, it is used to death, as well as execution. There are even crucifixions of bodies without heads.

How to execute people in Saudi Arabia

The moment of punishment is a whole ceremony. These customs have reached the 21st century in a slightly modified form from the Middle Ages.

All executions in Saudi Arabia are carried out after lunchtime prayers on main square. The area is cleared by police of cars and residents.

A person sentenced to execution in Saudi Arabia is brought to his knees while blindfolded or with a bag over his head. The police announce the decision and allow the execution of the sentence to begin. The executioner receives the sword from the officer's hands. He approaches the criminal from behind and, before cutting off his head, swings his sword a number of times. To quickly stop the flow of blood, a medical officer is present at the execution site each time.

The body of a criminal without a head is buried without a coffin and without a gravestone, usually immediately after the execution of the sentence. Now you know what executions are like in Saudi Arabia. Photos clearly demonstrate how this act is carried out.

Equality

In the early 90s, such punishment was applied only to members of the stronger sex, but today it happens quite often in Saudi Arabia. In this area there is equality between the sexes. By the beginning of 2007, 42 women had been executed.

Why don't they forgive here?

Crimes punishable in Saudi Arabia:

• premeditated murder;
• homosexuality;
• adultery;
• rape;
• treason;
• smuggling, sale, possession and use of drugs;
• terrorism or call for terrorism.

Instead of execution

In Saudi Arabia, the punishment is to inflict on the criminal the same injuries that he “awarded” the victim. Based on this, victims of crimes can demand that the perpetrator be inflicted with the same injury that was received from him as a result of the attack.

Typical case

Several years ago, during a fight, one of the participants, Abdul-Aziz Mutairi, was stabbed from behind and remained paralyzed for life. The culprit was caught and sentenced to two years in prison. But after six months he was granted an amnesty and was released.

Abdul appealed to the court with a request to convict his offender; according to the laws, a decision was made to turn to doctors to turn the culprit into a disabled person. However, the doctors do not agree to harm the patient, since they took the Hippocratic oath.

More examples

According to one news portal, the death penalty was recently carried out in Saudi Arabia against a pedophile and murderer. First, he was publicly raped, then his head was cut off, and then his body was crucified on a cross and put up for mockery by everyone present.

Such a justly harsh execution overtook the local owner of a trading store. He was found guilty of the particularly brutal murder of a child and his father. According to the case materials, the man stole the child, raped him and strangled him using a rope. And when his father arrived, he killed him using a knife.

Plus, he was exposed in the rape of five boys, one of whom fled into the desert after the incident and died there. They managed to find the pervert and murderer with the help of an 8-year-old boy, who became one of his victims. During the arrest, the suspect resisted, attacking the police with a knife and trying to cut them.

Another criminal was convicted of homosexuality and possession of a whole set of pornographic films. This is considered a serious crime in this country. You can find and read a huge number of these cases, in addition, there are many different videos on this topic on the Internet. The recordings show in great detail how the death penalty takes place in Saudi Arabia. But not everyone can watch it from start to finish.

An eye for an eye, literally.

About eleven years ago, an Egyptian worker was actually blinded as a punishment. This sentence was imposed because a foreigner poured acid into another person's face, causing the victim to go blind. The victim did not want to accept financial assistance in the form of 87,000 pounds sterling and insisted on revenge according to Sharia law. In 2008, the court sentenced the perpetrator to blinding himself with acid.

Statistics

Death penalties in Saudi Arabia are breaking all records. Human rights advocates highlight the fact that this punishment is most often used against emigrants and poor local residents. Just in 2014, 84 people were sentenced to death. Based on information from the ministry, 56 people were sentenced to death in the first three months of 2015. If the pace is not slowed down, the number of people sentenced could reach 200 or more by the end of this year. Compared to other years, in which figures ranged from 70 to 80 executions, the number is catastrophically high.

"Children, don't go for a walk in Africa..."

It is the most difficult for emigrants, because the language barrier makes the process of justification almost impossible. Ordinary workers who come from poor countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan and Yemen do not know Arabic or own it very poorly. They account for up to 40% of all executions in Saudi Arabia.

Most observers note that in relation to visitors, the court executes decisions with a finding of guilt much more often than in relation to the indigenous residents of this country. It is also worth noting that emigrants cannot afford to pay for the services of local lawyers.

Differences from generally accepted norms

Justice in Saudi Arabia is not related to world standards of fairness judicial trial. Directly trials take place in an atmosphere of secrecy and with a minimum number of participants. The accused can be found guilty even without sufficient evidence, based on the confessions of the suspect himself, which are often extracted through torture during the investigation. A verdict of “guilty” can only be reached based on the testimony of third parties. Although if deception is revealed, false witnesses will also be executed. It happens that relatives are not informed in advance about the execution sentence.

The death penalty in Saudi Arabia can be applied to those crimes that are not considered particularly serious. international law. These include: betrayal of one of the spouses, robbery with a weapon, rape and practice of magic.

Paradox or pattern

Many countries agree that the death penalty violates the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, that it should be abolished everywhere, that man has no right to carry out God’s judgment.

In response to this, I would like to say that, according to the same statistics, the lowest crime rate is in Saudi Arabia: it is safe to wander down the street at night, theft or rape is very rare case. Europeans can only dream about this.