Saudi executes 5 men convicted of terrorism

The largest group execution this year took place in Saudi Arabia on Monday, when five suspects convicted of carrying out a deadly attack on a sanctuary of worship were put to death, according to official television.

The attack took place in the east of the kingdom, which is where most of Saudi Arabia's oil is produced and where the majority of the country's Shiite minority resides, and the five men—four Saudis and one Egyptian—were on trial for it.

The date of the incident or the type of house of worship that was attacked were not mentioned in a statement from the interior ministry that was distributed by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Additionally, it made no mention of the mode of death, but the kingdom has a history of beheadings.

This pushed the total number of executions carried out by Saudi Arabia—a country frequently criticized by rights organizations for its widespread application of the death penalty—to 68.

Since early May, there have been more than 20 executions for crimes related to terrorism, with the majority occurring in the eastern province.

Two Bahrainis found guilty of terrorism were executed by the government in late May in a case Amnesty International claimed was based on "confessions obtained under torture."

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