The Faisaliya tower stands among other buildings in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Dec 5, 2019. (FAYEZ NURELDINE / AFP)
RIYADH – Saudi Arabia executed 81 men including seven Yemenis and one Syrian on Saturday, the interior ministry said, in the kingdom's biggest mass execution in decades.
The number dwarfed the 67 executions reported there in all of 2021 and the 27 in 2020.
The state SPA news agency said the accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process
“Offenses ranged from joining militant groups to holding 'deviant beliefs'", the ministry said in a statement.
"These individuals, totaling 81, were convicted of various crimes including murdering innocent men, women and children," the statement read.
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"Crimes committed by these individuals also include pledging allegiance to foreign terrorist organizations, such as ISIS (Islamic State), al-Qaeda and the Houthis," it added.
The ministry did not say how the executions were carried out.
The men included 37 Saudi nationals who were found guilty in a single case for attempting to assassinate security officers and targeting police stations and convoys, the statement added.
The state SPA news agency said the accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process.
READ MORE: Saudi Arabia executes 47, including Shiite cleric
The kingdom executed 63 people in one day in 1980, a year after militants seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca, according to state media reports.
A total of 47 people, including prominent Shi’ite Muslim cleric Nimr al-Nimr, were executed in one day in 2016.