The Saudi Arabian Government has executed three soldiers for colluding with individuals and countries that were considered as enemy by the government, an act considered as treasonable and punishable under the country’s law.
It stated that the deceased soldiers, after investigations, were found guilty of engaging in high treason, cooperating with the country’s enemy.
The government noted that there actions were found to threatens the kingdom and its military interests to ensure a secured nation from of external interference.
According to the government, the three soldiers executed for treasonable acts were Mohammed bin Ahmed, Shaher bin Issa and Hamoud bin Ibrahim.
The announcement came after the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 35-year-old heir to the throne, consolidates his grip on power and as a Saudi-led military campaign intensifies in neighbouring Yemen.
Mohammed, who is already viewed as the country’s de facto ruler, controlling all the major levers of government, from defence to the economy, holds the title of defence minister, while his younger brother, Prince Khalid bin Salman, is the deputy.
Over the past three years, the crown prince has mounted a sweeping crackdown on critics and rivals, with the imprisonment of prominent royal family members, business tycoons, clerics and activists.
In March last year, Prince Ahmed bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, a brother of King Salman, and the monarch’s nephew Prince Mohammed bin Nayef were detained, multiple sources said, as the crown prince sought to stamp out traces of internal dissent.
Riyadh led a military coalition into Yemen in March 2015 to prop up the internationally recognised government, but it has struggled to oust the Iran-backed Huthi rebels.
It has also faced a surge in missile and drone attacks against the kingdom. And fighting has also intensified for the key Yemeni region of Marib, with 53 pro-government and Huthi rebel fighters dead in the past 24 hours, loyalist military officials said Saturday.
The Huthis have been trying to seize oil-rich Marib, the government’s last significant pocket of territory in the north, since February.
