Saudi Arabia

RetentionistLegal status of the death penalty*
46Number of individuals currently under sentence of death
147Executions in 2022
69Executions in 2021
27Executions in 2020

2022Last known execution
StoningMethod(s) of execution
NoParty to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
NoParty to the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty
Not applicableParty to the American Convention on Human Rights
Not applicableParty to the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty
NoUN Moratorium Resolution (2010): cosponsor
AgainstUN Moratorium Resolution (2010): vote
YesUN Moratorium Resolution (2010): has signed the Note Verbale of Dissociation
NoUN Moratorium Resolution (2012): cosponsor
AgainstUN Moratorium Resolution (2012): vote
YesUN Moratorium Resolution (2012): has signed the Note Verbale of Dissociation
UnclearDoes the country have a mandatory death penalty?
2023-05-23Last update


Source: Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide
*Source of classification: Amnesty International

Related document(s)

Document(s)

The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2024

on 12 March 2025


2025

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Democratic People's Republic of Korea

Drug Offenses

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Legal Representation

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More details See the document

The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2024 report provides updates on legislative, policy and practical developments related to the use of capital punishment for drug offences, a practice which is a clear violation of international human rights and drug control standards. This report presents an analysis of key developments, with a focus on analysing and disseminating available figures and trends on drug-related executions and death sentences.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Countries list China / Democratic People's Republic of Korea / Indonesia / Iran (Islamic Republic of) / Iraq / Malaysia / Pakistan / Saudi Arabia / Singapore / Viet Nam
  • Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment / Drug Offenses / Fair Trial / Gender / Legal Representation / Moratorium / Trend Towards Abolition / Women

Document(s)

Blood Era: A Historic Record of Executions in Saudi Arabia 2024

By European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), on 5 January 2025


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NGO report

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Drug Offenses

Juveniles

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ar
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The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) reports an alarming escalation in executions in Saudi Arabia in 2024, marking a historic high with 345 individuals executed—double the number from 2023. This report highlights the extensive use of the death penalty, with executions for drug-related offenses, political charges, and discretionary judgments (Taazir) significantly increasing. The grim statistics reveal a judicial system fraught with human rights violations, including torture, lack of legal defense, and the execution of minors and women. Amid international criticism, Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty underscores a blatant disregard for justice and human dignity, perpetuating fear and repression while pursuing an international image of progressiveness.

Document(s)

Migratory dependency and the death penalty: Foreign nationals facing capital punishment in the Gulf

By Lucy Harry, Carolyn Hoyle , and Jocelyn Hutton Death Penalty Research Unit, Centre for Criminology, University of Oxford, on 30 January 2024


2024

Academic Article

Jordan

Kuwait

Lebanon

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

United Arab Emirates


More details See the document

Published on July 2, 2023

This article focuses on the cases of 664 foreign nationals, the majority of whom are migrant workers, under sentence of death across the Gulf states (including Jordan and Lebanon) between 2016 and 2021. The features of these cases suggest that they are inextricably linked to migrant workers’ dependency under the kafala system, with examples of migrants duped into smuggling drugs across the border by their migrant broker, and once in country, accounts of violent altercations due to disputes about exit visas, and in the case of migrant domestic workers, self-defence against sexual violence. Engaging with the burgeoning literature on immigration, exploitation and criminalisation, as well as scholarship on capital punishment, this article will explore the multiple and unique layers of dependency fostered by the kafala system that place migrant workers at higher risk of the death penalty in these Gulf jurisdictions.

  • Document type Academic Article
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Document(s)

الإعدام في السعودية 2023: دمويّة مستمرّة بأحكام غير معتادة

By European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESHOR), on 23 January 2024


2024

تقرير منظمة غير حكومية

Saudi Arabia


More details See the document

22 يناير، 2024

ترى المنظمة الأوروبية السعودية لحقوق الإنسان أن 2023 أظهرت التخبط في استخدام السعودية لعقوبة الإعدام. فإلى جانب التغير في أنواع الأحكام المنفذة بدون سبب واضح، وتنفيذ أحكام إعدام بتهم مخدرات، والاستخفاف بالآراء القانونية الدولية، تظهر الأرقام المرتفعة إصرار السعودية على استخدام عقوبة الإعدام دون روادع.

نفذت المملكة العربية السعودية في عام 2023، 172 حكم إعدام بحسب بيانات وزارة الداخلية التي تنشرها وكالة الأنباء الرسمية. عدد الإعدامات أكبر ب 15% من العدد الذي كانت وزارة الداخلية قد أعلنت عنه في 2022، حيث تم رصد 147 حكم، على الرغم من تنفيذ إعدام جماعي طال 81 شخصا في 2022.

نفذت المملكة العربية السعودية في عام 2023، 172 حكم إعدام بحسب بيانات وزارة الداخلية التي تنشرها وكالة الأنباء الرسمية. عدد الإعدامات أكبر ب 15% من العدد الذي كانت وزارة الداخلية قد أعلنت عنه في 2022، حيث تم رصد 147 حكم، على الرغم من تنفيذ إعدام جماعي طال 81 شخصا في 2022.

  • Document type تقرير منظمة غير حكومية
  • Countries list Saudi Arabia
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