Saudis Sent 1,200 Death-Row Inmates to Syria to Join Rebels
Offered Detainees Freedom, Stipends for Families
by Jason Ditz,
September , 2013
According to reports from the Assyrian International News Agency (AINA), a Syriac Christian-run media outlet,
the Saudi Arabian government sent over 1,200 death-row inmates to Syria
to join the ongoing civil war on the side of the rebellion.
The AINA report cites a leaked memo from
the Interior Ministry as saying the 1,239 inmates were all sentenced to
“execution by sword” for various crimes, and were given full pardons,
as well as stipends for their families.
An unnamed Iraqi MP confirmed knowledge of the program, and said that Saudi Arabia had been forced to end the policy after Russia threatened to bring the issue to the attention of the United Nations.
The quiet deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia was that the influx of inmates would end and Russia would keep the matter from becoming public knowledge. Now that the information is out there, it will be interesting to see how Russia and Saudi Arabia react.
The AINA report cites a leaked memo from
the Interior Ministry as saying the 1,239 inmates were all sentenced to
“execution by sword” for various crimes, and were given full pardons,
as well as stipends for their families.An unnamed Iraqi MP confirmed knowledge of the program, and said that Saudi Arabia had been forced to end the policy after Russia threatened to bring the issue to the attention of the United Nations.
The quiet deal between Russia and Saudi Arabia was that the influx of inmates would end and Russia would keep the matter from becoming public knowledge. Now that the information is out there, it will be interesting to see how Russia and Saudi Arabia react.
