Saudi Arabia to abolish flogging as punishment

Top judicial authority orders courts to impose fines or jail time instead

An aerial view of the Great Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Makkah. AFP

Saudi Arabia will abolish flogging as a form of punishment as part of the modernisation of its judicial system, according to sources and documents cited by local media.

A directive issued by the General Assembly of Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court requires courts to instead prescribe jail time, fines, or a combination of the two, the Al Arabiya English news website reported.

"The decision is an extension of the human rights reforms introduced under the direction of King Salman and the direct supervision of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman," Al Arabiya quoted the document as saying.

The Arabic language daily Okaz quoted "reliable sources" as saying the Supreme Court was set to implement the directive.

Saudi judges have prescribed flogging for offences where the punishments are not specified in the Quran or the Hadith – the two main sources of Islamic law on which the Saudi legal system is based.

The punishment has been applied to a range of offences, including public intoxication and harassment.

Changes in the Saudi judicial system, including a drive to make legal procedures and decisions publicly available online, is part of wide-ranging social and economic reforms initiated under Crown Prince Mohammed's Vision 2030 programme.