Saudi Arabia executes Yemeni man for plotting ISIS suicide attack

Kingdom says man planned to bomb a civilian gathering

A police officer in Saudi Arabia. The kingdom has executed a Yemeni man with links to ISIS for plotting a terrorist attack, the Ministry of Interior said on Monday. AP

A man has been executed in Saudi Arabia for plotting a suicide attack under the direction of ISIS.

Mohammed Abdullah Ahmed Al Saddam had carried an explosive belt, the kingdom’s interior ministry said on Monday.

Al Saddam, who was Yemeni, had pledged allegiance to ISIS and adopted its ideas, it said.

In April 2020, a Yemeni man was executed in the capital for an attack the previous November.

Imad Abdulqawi Al Mansouri, 33, stabbed three actors as they performed on stage during the Riyadh Season festival.

An Al Qaeda leader in Yemen had told him to carry out the attack.

This year, Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission said it had documented 27 executions in 2020.

As part of several judicial reforms, the kingdom said it would no longer impose the death penalty for crimes committed by minors.

Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging in “Ta’zir” cases, referring to punishment carried out at the discretion of a judge.