Saudi Arabia has executed over 100 foreign nationals in 2024, according to media reports. The latest execution involved a Yemeni national convicted of drug smuggling. This brings the total number of foreign nationals executed this year to 101—three times higher than the 34 foreign nationals executed in both 2022 and 2023.
“This marks the highest number of foreign executions in a single year. Saudi Arabia has never before executed 100 foreigners in one year,” said Taha al-Hajji, legal director of the Berlin-based European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), speaking to media.
Human rights groups have condemned Saudi Arabia’s increasing use of the death penalty, labeling it “excessive” and incongruent with the country’s efforts to modernize its image and attract international tourists and investors. Amnesty International ranked Saudi Arabia third globally in executions for 2023, following China and Iran.
This year has also seen Saudi Arabia’s highest number of overall executions in over three decades. As of September, the kingdom had already surpassed its previous record of 196 executions in 2022 and 192 in 1995. By mid-November, the total had reached 274 executions, media reported.
Foreign nationals constitute a significant portion of those executed. Among the 101 foreigners, 21 were from Pakistan, 20 from Yemen, 14 from Syria, 10 from Nigeria, nine from Egypt, eight from Jordan, and seven from Ethiopia. Others included three each from Sudan, India, and Afghanistan, and one each from Sri Lanka, Eritrea, and the Philippines.
The rise in executions is largely attributed to Saudi Arabia’s 2022 decision to lift a three-year moratorium on executing drug offenders. Of the 92 drug-related executions this year, 69 involved foreign nationals.
Diplomats and activists highlight the disproportionate challenges foreign defendants face in Saudi Arabia, including limited access to fair trials and legal resources. “Foreigners are the most vulnerable group,” said Hajji of ESOHR, noting that many are exploited by drug trafficking networks and subjected to violations from arrest through execution.
