Saudi Arabia
2026
- GOVERNMENT
- absolute monarchy
- CONSTITUTION
- Sharia applies; a fundamental law establishing the rights and responsibilities of the government was introduced in 1992
- LEGAL SYSTEM
- based on Sharia law but some secular norms have been introduced
- LEGISLATIVE SYSTEM
- Advisory Council, appointed by the king for 4 years
- JUDICIAL SYSTEM
- Supreme Council of Justice
RELIGIONS
100% Muslims
From the country
- MAY 31, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Two Saudi nationals and a Kuwaiti convicted of the...
Two Saudi nationals and a Kuwaiti convicted of the abduction, rape and murder of a six-year-old girl were executed in Kuwait, and their corpses displayed in public
- MAY 26, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International said in its report for 2003 that...
Amnesty International said in its report for 2003 that "gross" human rights violations continued in Saudi Arabia where discrimination against women also remained "endemic"
- MAY 17, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national Sarhan bin Hassen bin Mahdi al-Kobra,...
Saudi national Sarhan bin Hassen bin Mahdi al-Kobra, convicted of murdering a compatriot after a quarrel, was beheaded by the sword in the country's capital Riyadh
- MAY 1, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Prince Fahd bin Nayef, a minor Saudi prince aged 19,...
Prince Fahd bin Nayef, a minor Saudi prince aged 19, was saved from the executioner's sword by a last-minute pardon by the father of the teenager he murdered
- APRIL 26, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Dheeb bin Mohammed bin Bashir al-Qahtani was executed...
Dheeb bin Mohammed bin Bashir al-Qahtani was executed in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, after being convicted of killing another Saudi in a row over money
- APRIL 21, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia voted against the resolution on the death...
Saudi Arabia voted against the resolution on the death penalty at the 60th UN Commission on Human Rights
- APRIL 20, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Seif bin Olayan bin Mohammad al-Zughaibi, a Saudi national,...
Seif bin Olayan bin Mohammad al-Zughaibi, a Saudi national, was executed in Riyadh for shooting Abdullah bin Marzouq al-Harbi after a row which broke out as they drove in the capital
- APRIL 20, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Mohammad Wahab Widad, a Pakistani convicted of smuggling...
Mohammad Wahab Widad, a Pakistani convicted of smuggling heroin, was executed in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- APRIL 13, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Kuwait's court of cassation, the emirate's highest...
Kuwait's court of cassation, the emirate's highest court, upheld a death sentence for two Saudi brothers and a Kuwaiti for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in May 2002
- APRIL 12, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that prescribes the death sentence
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that prescribes the death sentence
- MARCH 31, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia, which implements strict Islamic sharia...
Saudi Arabia, which implements strict Islamic sharia law, executed Jarwan bin Hamad bin Marhan al-Abdan, a Saudi man, for smuggling drugs into the kingdom
- MARCH 26, 2004Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Abdul-Karim al-Ghoraid, a 21-year-old convicted Saudi...
Abdul-Karim al-Ghoraid, a 21-year-old convicted Saudi murderer, escaped death by seconds when he was forgiven by his victim's father as he knelt down before the executioner's sword