RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA: An American citizen was executed in Saudi Arabia after being convicted of torturing and murdering his Egyptian father, state media reported.
The man identified as Bishoy Sharif Naji Naseef was executed on Wednesday, August 16, 2023, in Riyadh region, according to a statement from the Saudi Interior Ministry.
The death sentence for Naseef was carried out after the court found him guilty of brutally beating his father and barbarically strangling him to death.
The statement from the Saudi Interior Ministry also noted that Naseef used narcotics, mutilated his father's body after the slaying, and attempted to kill another person before his arrest.
The ministry did not disclose how he was executed but beheading has been a common method of death penalty in Saudi Arabia in the past.
Who was Bishoy Sharif Naji Naseef?
There is currently no information available about Naseef's age or other personal information. It is also unclear whether he had a home address in the United States.
State Department spokesman Vedant Patel previously told reporters that a US consular official last visited Naseef in July, as per Associated Press. "We are aware of those reports and are monitoring the situation but don't have any specifics," Patel noted.
The US State Department was unable to offer further information or confirm Naseef's death.
Has Saudi Arabia ever executed an American citizen before Naseef?
It is unknown if Saudi Arabia has ever executed a US citizen before Bishoy Sharif Naji Naseef but the country was involved in the extrajudicial execution of Saudi-American writer Jamal Khashoggi in Turkey in 2018, as per Daily Mail.
Saudi Arabia was in third place among the countries with the worst execution record in 2022 after China and Iran, According to data from Amnesty International.
The Gulf country is widely criticized for its extensive application of the death penalty, which human rights groups say, undercuts its efforts to improve its reputation through a comprehensive 'Vision 2030' social and economic reform plan.
A study from the British human rights organization Reprieve claims that the country’s annual rate of executions has nearly doubled since Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his father gained power.
More than 1,000 death sentences have been carried out since 2015, the report said. An AFP count based on reports from official media indicates that 91 individuals, 19 of whom were foreigners, had been executed so far this year.
In March 2022, the kingdom executed 81 people on the same day, the largest known mass execution carried out in the kingdom in its modern history. At the time, Saudi officials said that some of the criminals who were executed had 'followed the footsteps of Satan' and included members of Al Qaeda.
