SAUDI MINISTER SAYS BEHEADING, LASHINGS 'CANNOT BE CHANGED'

Saudi Arabia’s Justice Minister has defended tough Sharia punishments such as beheading, cutting off hands and lashing, claiming they “cannot be changed” because they are enshrined in Islamic law.
“These punishments are based on divine religious texts and we cannot change them,” Mohammed Al Eissa reportedly said during a recent speech in Washington.
The minister said Islamic law had helped to reduce crime in the conservative kingdom.
Capital punishment was carried out in many other countries, including the US, and was not isolated to Islamic states, he said.
He said lashings were only given to those convicted of serious crimes related to “honour”, while Sharia – or Islamic – law did not approve of cutting off the hands of suspected thieves.
“Islam sympathises with the victim, not the criminal,” Al Eissa said.
Speaking to American lawyers, legal consultants and academics, Al Eissa criticised international human rights groups that call for changes to the kingdom’s judiciary, claiming they made “big mistakes” because they misunderstood the country and Islam.
“Any attack on the judiciary will be considered an attack on the kingdom’s sovereignty,” he said.
Al Eissa said his country’s criminal justice system had improved in recent years.
“At Saudi courts, criminal proceedings are undertaken publicly to ensure transparency and fair justice,” he said.