Saudi's "Chop Chop" Square, Where Blood Once Ran, Now Filled With Cafes

Shaded by palm trees in a popular Riyadh square, children play where blood once ran, a decade after Saudi Arabia moved its soaring number of executions behind closed doors.

Al-Adl Square, nicknamed "Chop Chop Square" by foreign residents, is now marked by fountains and cafes, as befits the kingdom's efforts to portray a less brutal image. 

Already this year Saudi Arabia has broken its annual record for executions, discreetly dispatching 340 convicts when once they would have been put to death in public.   

For generations, beheadings took place each week after Friday prayers in Al-Adl or "Justice" square, which is flanked by the headquarters of the once-feared religious police.

Residents and business-owners recall the executions in vivid detail, saying large crowds would gather hoping to catch a glimpse. 

"The police would set up metal barriers around the square, and people would gather behind them to watch the executioner cut off heads one after another," said Rafiq, a shop-owner who asked to use a pseudonym.

"It was terrifying, but after a while we got used to it and the fear disappeared," the 46-year-old added.  

"Many people would close their eyes at the moment the sword struck and shout 'God is the greatest'," he said.

Large drains covered by iron grilles -- allowing for easy clean-up after decapitations -- are still visible, a lasting reminder of the bloody ritual. 

Similar scenes played out across the country weekly, with public executions performed in squares outside the largest mosque in any given city. 

Public beheadings were halted without explanation in late 2013, according to Duaa Dhainy, a researcher at the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights.

"Afterwards information reached the organisation that executions would take place inside prison courtyards," said Dhainy. 

A government committee approved the use of firing squads in 2013 but Saudi authorities have not revealed how executions are now being carried out.

Officials did not respond to requests from AFP for more details on the subject.

'Not Ashamed' 

Moving executions to prisons is only one way that Saudi Arabia, now seeking to lure foreign visitors and investment to reduce its reliance on oil, has changed in recent years.

The religious police are muzzled, women walk the streets without veils or head-coverings and even the strict ban on alcohol has been eased for high-earning non-Muslims.

For Youssef, a 14-year-old Saudi in a bright yellow Brazil football jersey, Al-Adl Square is "just a playground. We play here every week." 

An AFP tally based on public announcements of executions reached 340 on Monday, the second straight annual record. Rights groups began documenting executions in the 1990s.

The surge follows the 2022 resumption of capital punishment for drug offences. 

Saudi Arabia is a major market for captagon, the illicit stimulant that was Syria's largest export under former ruler Bashar al-Assad, according to the United Nations.

Activists have decried the policy of executing drug offenders, saying many are not dangerous criminals and that they are often foreign nationals. 

Saudi authorities argue the death penalty is necessary to keep public order, and that it is only used after all avenues for appeal have been exhausted.

In a cafe overlooking Al-Adl square, Riyadh resident Hanouf said she is not ashamed of the executions that took place there.

"When I bring my children here, I tell them about this history," she told AFP. "Every country in the world has moments like this in its history. This is part of our history and we are proud of it."

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