Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia abolishes flogging as punishment

The supreme court of Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a form of punishment.

The court, in an official statement, said on Saturday (April 26) that the "human rights advances" are part of reforms pushed by King Salman Bin Abdul Aziz and his son, the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS).

The Saudi supreme court also added how the latest reform was intended to "bring the kingdom into line with international human rights norms against corporal punishment".

In future, judges will have to choose between fines and/or jail sentences, or non-custodial alternatives like community service, the court said in a statement seen by AFP on Saturday.

Speaking to Al Jazeera about the judgement, Aliaa Abutayah, a London-based Saudi political activist, said: "If the Saudi government is serious about legal reform, they should start by releasing all of the political and human rights prisoners they have been holding in their prisons for years."

"The government should also abolish the death penalty, including the practice of executing juveniles," she further added.

The most recent high-profile case of flogging took place when a Saudi blogger by the name of Raif Badawi was arrested in 2012 and was sentenced to 600 lashes and seven years in prison. The court, in 2014, resentenced it to 10 years and 1,000 lashes for blogging about free speech and "insulting Islam".

Badawi is still serving his jail sentence.