__NOTOC__ Deera Square (), also known as Justice Square () or Safa Square () is a

public space A public space is a place that is open and accessible to the general public. Roads, pavements, public squares, parks, and beaches are typically considered public space. To a limited extent, government buildings which are open to the public, su ...

in the al-Dirah neighborhood of

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

, located adjacent to the al-Hukm Palace compound and

Imam Turki bin Abdullah Grand Mosque The Imam Turki bin Abdullah Grand Mosque (), also known as the Grand Mosque of Riyadh, is a Sunni Islam Friday mosque in the ad-Dirah neighborhood of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, located adjacent to al-Hukm Palace compound, in Deera Square. It was ...

in the Qasr al-Hukm District. It is known as the historic site of

public execution A public execution is a form of capital punishment which "members of the general public may voluntarily attend." This definition excludes the presence of only a small number of witnesses called upon to assure executive accountability. The purpose ...

s, where those

sentenced to death Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

in Saudi Arabia were publicly

beheaded Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

. At unannounced times, Saudi security forces and other officials cleared the area to make way for executions to take place. After the beheading of the condemned, the head was stitched to the body, which was wrapped up and taken away for the final rites. It was a crime to record, with photos or videos, the executions, despite the number of attendees witnessing such public events. Saudi Arabia remains the only country with legal

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

by decapitation (beheading) – in 2022, recorded executions in Saudi Arabia reached 196, the highest number recorded in the country in 30 years – but beheadings are no longer carried out in public, with no public executions having been recorded in the country in 2022, after

Red Crescent The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human ...

criticism and comparison between Saudi Arabia's and the

Islamic State The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS ...

's practices.

Publicity of the executions

In 2009, Canadian journalist Adam St. Patrick, who witnessed a public execution in the square, reported: " e process is less overtly public now than it once was. Corpses aren’t hung for display in the square as often, and beheadings drew much bigger crowds when they were a regular event, held on Fridays after noon prayers. No formal event or fanfare begins or ends them now, and nothing indicates awareness or concern about how alien this is to outsiders." In 2015, it was reported that filming the public beheadings in Saudi Arabia had been forbidden. There was speculation that this was due to the international repercussion of public beheadings then carried out by the

, and the alleged "irony" of the fact that Saudi Arabia, being a key ally in the US-led coalition against the group, carried out the same sort of "brutal" punishments as the militant group.

Gallery

File:Dira Square.JPG, The square in 2007 File:OldRiyadh 1943.jpg, Deera Square, 1943

References

External links

* {{Riyadh Buildings and structures in Riyadh Geography of Riyadh Capital punishment in Saudi Arabia Execution sites Squares in Asia

Publicity of the executions

Gallery

See also

References

External links