Saudi Arabia is being urged to cut back on the use of the death penalty as a punishment for crimes.

Although the death penalty is not illegal in international law, the Middle Eastern country does use it as punishment for a wide range of offences including murder, adultery and witchcraft.

Death penalty sentences have increased dramatically in 2011.

Derrick Mbatha asked Rupert Colville from the UN Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) about the recent trend.

Duration: 2’42”