The decision to ban flogging, which the state-run human rights commission confirmed Saturday, removes one aspect of the kingdom’s justice system that has often generated criticism abroad. “I would not call it a breakthrough,” said Adam Coogle, a researcher at Human Rights Watch who tracks Saudi Arabia. “This reform is a momentous step forward in Saudi Arabia’s human rights agenda, and merely one of many recent reforms in the kingdom,” Awwad Alawwad, president of the kingdom’s human rights commission, told Reuters. “It is meant to be more of a humiliation,” said Coogle of Human Rights Watch, adding that he had not heard of reports of injuries. In 2015, he was awarded the European Union’s top human rights award and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Source: bd News24 April 26, 2020 10:52 UTC