May 21, 2105--Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Help Wanted. Must Be Willing to Travel
Though oil prices have declined precipitously during the the past year, things appear to still be looking good for our former-best-friends in Saudi Arabia.
There are numerous unfilled openings for well-paying jobs across many sectors.
Including for executioners.
According to the New York Times, there are so many waiting to be beheaded (or be-handed) that on the Ministry of Civil Service's website the Saudi government is advertising for up to eight executioners.
No special skills are required nor any particular kind of educational background. Just the ability to "carry out the death sentence according to Islamic Shariah after it is ordered by a legal ruling."
Candidates, though, must be able to handle a heavy workload since there apparently is a huge backlog of murderers and those convicted of other major crimes who need to be beheaded plus many others, thieves, who are waiting to have their hands chopped off.
But it appears that there is a shortage of experienced swordsmen in many regions of Saudi Arabia and so it may be some time before all eight positions are filled. In the meantime, those on Saudi Death Row are piling up. Last Sunday, a man convicted of a drug offense was publicly beheaded, making him the 85th person executed thus far this year. According to Human Rights Watch during all of last year "only" 88 were beheaded. So you can see what executioners there are facing.
In the past, the execution business was a father-son profession, with the job passed down from generation to generation. This appears to be less true today; and of course, to alleviate the shortage, it is not likely that fathers will pass down the sword to their daughters. Among other things, how would they be able to get from assignment to assignment since women in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to drive. Thus the public job posting.
On the website there is no mention of how much the jobs pay. Traditionally, since even in Saudi Arabia these are not full-time jobs, these swordsmen typically work as guards for members of the royal family and then do their beheadings on the side, apparently receiving a bonus of at least $1,000 per. How much they get for amputating hands is not known.
But I have a solution for the hard-pressed Saudis--perhaps they should consider subcontracting with ISIS. It appears that they have no shortage of members experienced in beheadings.
There are numerous unfilled openings for well-paying jobs across many sectors.
Including for executioners.
According to the New York Times, there are so many waiting to be beheaded (or be-handed) that on the Ministry of Civil Service's website the Saudi government is advertising for up to eight executioners.
No special skills are required nor any particular kind of educational background. Just the ability to "carry out the death sentence according to Islamic Shariah after it is ordered by a legal ruling."
Candidates, though, must be able to handle a heavy workload since there apparently is a huge backlog of murderers and those convicted of other major crimes who need to be beheaded plus many others, thieves, who are waiting to have their hands chopped off.
But it appears that there is a shortage of experienced swordsmen in many regions of Saudi Arabia and so it may be some time before all eight positions are filled. In the meantime, those on Saudi Death Row are piling up. Last Sunday, a man convicted of a drug offense was publicly beheaded, making him the 85th person executed thus far this year. According to Human Rights Watch during all of last year "only" 88 were beheaded. So you can see what executioners there are facing.
In the past, the execution business was a father-son profession, with the job passed down from generation to generation. This appears to be less true today; and of course, to alleviate the shortage, it is not likely that fathers will pass down the sword to their daughters. Among other things, how would they be able to get from assignment to assignment since women in Saudi Arabia are not permitted to drive. Thus the public job posting.
On the website there is no mention of how much the jobs pay. Traditionally, since even in Saudi Arabia these are not full-time jobs, these swordsmen typically work as guards for members of the royal family and then do their beheadings on the side, apparently receiving a bonus of at least $1,000 per. How much they get for amputating hands is not known.
But I have a solution for the hard-pressed Saudis--perhaps they should consider subcontracting with ISIS. It appears that they have no shortage of members experienced in beheadings.
Labels: Executions, ISIS, New York Times, Saudi Arabia, Shariah
posted by Steven Zwerling at
5:10 AM
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