Bahrain Mirror: Saudi Arabia said it executed two Bahraini men, Sadiq Thamer and Jaafar Sultan, on Monday after being convicted of belonging to a militant group wanting to destabilize the two Mideast kingdoms. Amnesty International and other rights groups have criticized their trial as being grossly unfair.

Sayed Ahmed Al-Wadaei, director at the Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy, said "The Saudi leadership feels they are immune from any consequences when they execute men they have tortured," adding "The Bahraini regime is complicit [in the execution] as they failed to act to save the lives of their citizens, providing a green light to Saudi to proceed with their executions."

Amnesty, however, had criticized their October 2021 trial and conviction, adding they also had faced charges for "participation in anti-government protests in Bahrain."

"Jaafar and Sadiq had no access to legal representation throughout their pre-trial detention and interrogations," the rights group said in a statement in May 2022. "According to court documents, they told the court that they were tortured and that their so-called confessions were extracted under duress."

The kingdom has called the torture allegations "entirely unfounded," though other prisoners have faced torture in Saudi custody.

Saudi Arabia has said the men had been detained in May 2015 on King Fahd Causeway, which links Bahrain to the kingdom, with 11 bags of RDX explosive weighing 38 kilograms (85 pounds), 50 detonating capsules and detonation cord.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world's top executors. It typically beheads prisoners sentenced to death.

Arabic Version