Saudi Arabia advertises for eight new executioners

SAUDI Arabia is reportedly looking to recruit eight new executioners as the nation experiences an "unprecedented spike" in judicial killings, according to Amnesty International.

An advertisement for the positions was posted on the country's civil service jobs website, stating that the role involves "executing a judgement of death" but requires no specific qualifications.

Successful applicants would also reportedly have to perform amputations on people convicted of less serious crimes.

Executions in Saudi Arabia have reportedly increased significantly this year, with the Saudi Press Agency reporting 85 people have been put to death since the beginning of 2015. A total of 88 people were executed in 2014.

Amnesty International's Saudi Arabian researcher told The Independent he believed the advertisement indicated authorities had no plans of reducing their use of capital punishment.

"There's already been an unprecedented spike in executions in Saudi Arabia this year – the recruitment of more executioners is a clear sign that the authorities have no intention of rolling back this execution spree any time soon," he said.

"The scores of people who go to their deaths in beheadings every year in Saudi Arabia often do so after deeply unfair trials, including after “confessions” extracted under torture."