Urgent Appeal: Halt Executions in Saudi Arabia

Imagine living each day in the shadow of death. This is the grim reality for hundreds of prisoners in Saudi Arabia, facing the terrifying prospect of execution for non-lethal drug offenses. Among them, scores of Egyptian, Ethiopian, and Somali nationals await their fate with dread.

Data from the Saudi Press Agency provides a stark picture: a harrowing 98 men have been executed for drug-related offenses in 2025 alone. Against this backdrop, the stories of people facing this dire situation call for a moment of reflection. What led them here?

Take Najran Prison in southwestern Saudi Arabia, home to at least 37 Ethiopian and 27 Somali nationals. These men await the next step in their ordeal. Already, 19 Somali and seven Ethiopian nationals have been publicly executed this year, mostly for “smuggling hashish.” The numbers are not just statistics—they’re individual lives and stories.

Similarly, Tabuk Prison in the northwest houses 26 Egyptians on death row for similar charges. Among the executed were Mahmoud Mohamed Khamis and Farhat Abu al-Saud, both in late May. They each left behind a trail of unanswered questions and shattered families.

As Eid al-Adha concluded on June 10, some inmates were eerily told of looming executions. The UN Special Rapporteur urgently implored Saudi authorities to cease these executions, stating, “violations of fair trial guarantees leading to the imposition of the death penalty render such sentences arbitrary and unlawful.”

What’s even more troubling is that some believe these individuals might be victims of human trafficking, coerced into transporting drugs under false pretenses. Yet, many weren’t even given a fair chance in court.

Saudi Arabia’s legal system is notoriously opaque. Human rights groups with access to court documents often uncover patterns of abuse during arrest and trial processes. Prisoners face torturous interrogations, lack legal representation, and often, cases pivot on coerced confessions. It’s a breach not only of Saudi laws but also of international human rights obligations.

The horror doesn’t end with the gavel. Families are often kept in the dark about execution dates, learning the grim news through media outlets. The cruelty extends as remains are not returned, and burial sites are undisclosed, compounding their grief.

The statistics are staggering. In 2025, up to June 17, the Saudi Press Agency reported 154 executions, an increase of over 80% compared to the same period in 2024. It’s a haunting trend. How many more will follow?

Executions for non-lethal drug-related offenses starkly violate international human rights law. The law clearly stipulates that only crimes involving “intentional killing” warrant the death penalty. The brief Saudi moratorium from January 2021 to November 2022 offered a glimmer of hope but has since vanished without formal policy change.

Despite commitments from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2018 and again in March 2022, aiming to curb the use of the death penalty, executions continue to skyrocket. As secret executions occasionally bypass official reports, the true numbers may be even more alarming.

Given these urgent concerns, we, the undersigned organizations, plead with Saudi authorities to take decisive action:

• Commute death sentences for non-serious offenses.
• Initiate a formal moratorium with the goal of abolishing the death penalty entirely.
• Amend laws to comply with international human rights standards, limiting death penalties to only the most serious crimes.

Signatories:

African Academy of Diplomacy (AAD), ALQST for Human Rights, Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders (CSHRD), DAWN, Death Penalty Focus, ECPM (Together against the death penalty), Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF), Egyptian Front for Human Rights, Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF), Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), FairSquare, German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (GCADP), Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR), Horn Afrik News Agency for Human Rights (HANAHR), Human Rights and Democracy Media Center (SHAMS), Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF), MENA Rights Group, Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC), Puntland Media Association (PUMA), Puntland Women Journalists Association, Refugees Platform in Egypt (RPE), Reprieve, Sinai Foundation for Human Rights (SFHR), Somalia Civil Society Forum (SOCSOF), Somalia Diaspora Voice (SDV), Somalia Disability Network (SODIN), Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS), North Western State of Somalia Women Lawyers Association (SOWLA), South West Human Rights Defenders Network (SWHRDN), Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), Women’s Action for Human Rights (WAHR).

Edited By Ali Musa
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.