Saudi Arabia executes four men over attacks on police in restive Qatif peninsula

‘Four people have been executed in Saudi Arabia after being convicted on terrorism charges related to violence in the east of the country, Saudi officials have said.
State television carried a statement from the Interior Ministry on Tuesday saying the four men’s death sentences were issued for crimes including joining armed groups and attacking police stations and security patrols in the restive Qatif peninsula.
The oil-producing region has been hit by a wave of recent violence – including car bombs and shoot outs between armed protesters and soldiers – over plans to demolish and redevelop a 400-year-old traditionally Shia neighbourhood in the town of Awamiya.
Riyadh says terrorists hide in buildings there in order to launch attacks on the security services. In May, at least five people – including a two-year-old boy – were killed when the area was placed under a week-long siege by the army.
It was not clear whether the men executed this week were part of Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority, or the crimes they were accused of had taken place, although several local news outlets alleged that was the case.’
Read more: Saudi Arabia executes four men over attacks on police in restive Qatif peninsula