Saudi Arabia carried out its largest known mass execution in modern history on Saturday by executing 81 people who were convicted of several crimes ranging from killings to belonging to militant groups, Associated Press reported. 

The state-run Saudi Press Agency announced the executions, saying they included those “convicted of various crimes, including the murdering of innocent men, women and children.”

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The kingdom also said some of those executed were members of al-Qaida, the Islamic State group, and also backers of Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Those executed included 73 Saudis, seven Yemenis and one Syrian. The report did not say where the executions took place.

“The accused were provided with the right to an attorney and were guaranteed their full rights under Saudi law during the judicial process, which found them guilty of committing multiple heinous crimes that left a large number of civilians and law enforcement officers dead,” the Saudi Press Agency said.

“The kingdom will continue to take a strict and unwavering stance against terrorism and extremist ideologies that threaten the stability of the entire world,” the report added. 

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The executions drew immediate international criticism. 

Iran on Sunday called it a “violation of basic human rights,” Iranian state media reported. 

“This inhumane act was in violation of basic principles of human rights and international law, and contrary to human principles and accepted legal procedures,” a spokesperson of Iran’s foreign ministry said, according to state media.

Soraya Bauwens, the deputy director of Reprieve, a London-based advocacy group, said, “The world should know by now that when Mohammed bin Salman promises reform, bloodshed is bound to follow.”

Ali Adubusi, the director of the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, alleged that some of those executed had been tortured and faced trials “carried out in secret.”

“These executions are the opposite of justice,” he said.