SAUDI ARABIA: GOVERNMENT HAS ADVERTISED FOR EIGHT NEW EXECUTIONERS

Saudi Arabia has advertised for eight executioners. The eight positions, as advertised on the website of the Ministry of Civil Service in the religious jobs section, require no specific skills or educational background for “carrying out the death sentence according to Islamic Shariah after it is ordered by a legal ruling.”
The ministry said successful candidates would also be expected to carry out amputations ordered by the kingdom’s Sharia courts.
Saudi authorities have not said why the number of executions has increased so rapidly, but diplomats have speculated it may be because more judges have been appointed, allowing a backlog of appeal cases to be heard.