Saudi Arabia
Death penalty and prisoners' rights · Archive since 1999
Data card
- Legal status
- Retentionist
- Executions recorded in 2026
- 9
- Executions recorded in 2025
- 41
- First news item in the archive
- JANUARY 1, 1999 · Executions are carried out in public with a sword
- News items in the archive
- 1,841
Source: Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026.
Saudi Arabia is classified as Retentionist in the Hands Off Cain database, updated to 2026. In 2026 the association recorded 9 executions in the country, against 41 the year before. The archive holds 1,841 news items on Saudi Arabia, from 1999 to today.
Latest news
JULY 27, 2026Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: FIVE ETHIOPIAN MIGRANTS EXECUTED
- JUNE 28, 2026Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: THREE SOMALI NATIONALS EXECUTED FOR HASHISH SMUGGLING
APRIL 20, 2026Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA - 2,000 Executions Under King Salman in 16 years
The country has a population of around 35 million.
APRIL 14, 2026Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: ALI AL-SUBAITI AND HIS UNCLE MUSTAFA AL-SUBAITI EXECUTED IN NINTH POLITICAL EXECUTION THIS YEAR
Saudi authorities executed Ali bin Hassan Al-Subaiti and his uncle Mustafa bin Saleh Al-Subaiti on April 9, 2026, in the Eastern Province, after convicting them on alleged “terrorism” charges, marking the ninth political execution since the beginning of t
APRIL 13, 2026Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SEVEN PEOPLE EXECUTED IN A DAY
Saudi authorities executed seven people who had been convicted of drug trafficking in a single day, state media said on April 12, 2026.
DECEMBER 23, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: THREE CITIZENS EXECUTED IN A SINGLE DAY
Saudi authorities on December 23, 2025 carried out the execution of three detainees from the eastern province of Qatif, a move that has drawn criticism from rights groups and opposition figures.
- DECEMBER 16, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: RECORD 340 DEATH SENTENCES EXECUTED IN 2025
Saudi Arabia set a new record in 2025 for the number of death sentences executed in a single year. According to an AFP count, 340 people were executed in the kingdom this year.
NOVEMBER 9, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: 2 CITIZENS EXECUTED FOR PLOTTING ATTACKS ON PLACES OF WORSHIP
Two Saudi citizens were executed for planning to carry out attacks on places of worship, the Kingdom's Ministry of Interior said on November 9, 2025.
- OCTOBER 21, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI’S 48 HOUR EXECUTION SPREE KILLS CHILD AND DRUG DEFENDANTS
Saudi Arabia executed on October 20 and 21, 2025 a prisoner who participated in protests as a minor and two men convicted of drug-related crimes.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: MAN EXECUTED FOR ‘JOINING A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION’
Saudi authorities on September 9, 2025 executed Sultan bin Amer bin Abdullah Al-Shehri, bringing the total number of executions in 2025 close to 300.
- SEPTEMBER 8, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: WOMAN EXECUTED IN MECCA FOR KILLING HUSBAND WITH ACID
Saudi authorities said on September 7, 2025 they had carried out the execution of a Saudi woman in the western region of Mecca after she was convicted of murdering her husband by pouring acid on him as he slept.
AUGUST 25, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: MAN EXECUTED OVER PROTESTS HE ATTENDED AS A 16-YEAR-OLD
Saudi Arabia executed Jalal Labbad on 21 August 2025 for crimes allegedly committed when he was under 18 years of age [a child].
- AUGUST 19, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 17 PEOPLE EXECUTED IN THREE DAYS
Saudi authorities put two people to death on August 4, 2025 to reach 17 in three days, state media said, as the conservative kingdom accelerated towards a record number of executions this year.
- JULY 24, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
KENYAN MAN ON DEATH ROW IN SAUDI ARABIA FREED
A Kenyan man on death row in Saudi Arabia for more than a decade has been released after a lengthy campaign to save him from execution, a Kenyan foreign affairs ministry official has said.
- JULY 15, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: CITIZEN EXECUTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry announced on July 13, 2025 the execution of a Saudi citizen in Mecca Province after his conviction for a second offense of drug trafficking.
- JULY 10, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA HAS NOW EXECUTED MORE THAN 100 FOREIGNERS THIS YEAR
Saudi Arabia put two Ethiopians to death on July 10, 2025, pushing this year’s number of foreigners executed past 100 – a spike in capital punishment that human rights groups have strongly condemned.
- JUNE 24, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 37 ETHIOPIANS AMONG SCORES OF FOREIGN NATIONALS AT ‘IMMINENT RISK’ OF EXECUTION
At least 37 Ethiopian men are facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia for drug-related offences, according to
JUNE 16, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: JOURNALIST EXECUTED AFTER SEVEN YEARS IN PRISON
A prominent Saudi journalist who was arrested in 2018 and convicted on terrorism and treason charges has been executed, the kingdom said. Activist groups maintain that the charges against him were trumped up.
- MAY 4, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 100 PEOPLE EXECUTED IN 2025 SO FAR
Saudi Arabia executed two people convicted of terrorism related charges, the interior ministry said on May 3, 2025, bringing the total number of executions carried out this year to at least 100, according to an AFP tally.
APRIL 29, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: CITIZEN SENTENCED TO DEATH ON TERRORISM CHARGES
The Ministry of Interior in Saudi Arabia has issued an advisory informing citizens that a man has been sentenced to death on April 26, 2025.
- APRIL 15, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: AFGHAN MAN EXECUTED IN MECCA FOR SMUGGLING HEROIN
Saudi Arabia's interior ministry announced on April 13, 2025 the execution of Afghan national Badshah Qul Suleimani in the Mecca region, after he was convicted of attempting to smuggle heroin into the kingdom.
- MARCH 30, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
STEPHEN MUNYAKHO SET TO RETURN HOME AFTER MUSLIM WORLD LEAGUE CLEARED $1MILLION FINE IN SAUDI ARABIA
The Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims (Supkem) has confirmed the payment of Sh129 million to Saudi Arabian authorities for the release of Kenyan Stephen Munyakho, also known as Abdulkarim, SyndiGate Media reported on March 28, 2025.
MARCH 24, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SAUDI PROTESTOR MOHAMMAD LABBAD SENTENCED TO DEATH
The Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal (SCCA) on February 25, 2025 sentenced Saudi protestor Mohammad Labbad to the death penalty.
FEBRUARY 18, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SOMALI NATIONAL, SAUDI CITIZEN EXECUTED FOR HASHISH TRAFFICKING, MURDER
Saudi authorities executed a Somali national convicted of drug smuggling and a Saudi citizen found guilty of murder, the Ministry of Interior announced on February 16, 2025.
FEBRUARY 8, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: TWO CITIZENS EXECUTED ON 'TERRORISM' CHARGES
Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior announced on February 5, 2025 that two citizens had been executed after being convicted of “betraying the nation and supporting terrorism.”
- JANUARY 30, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN EXECUTED AFTER CONVICTED ON TERROR CHARGES
Saudi Arabia said on January 28, 2025 it had executed a citizen convicted on terror charges including attacking security forces.
- JANUARY 21, 2025Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI EXECUTES MAN CONVICTED OF TERRORISM
The Saudi Ministry of Interior announced in a statement on January 18, 2025 that a citizen had been executed following his conviction on terrorism charges.
DECEMBER 31, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: 330 PEOPLE EXECUTED THIS YEAR, HIGHEST NUMBER IN DECADES
Saudi Arabia has reportedly executed 330 people this year, in what rights groups are calling the highest number in decades.
- DECEMBER 31, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: AT LEAST 338 PEOPLE EXECUTED IN 2024
Saudi Arabia carried out at least 338 executions in 2024, sharply up on the 170 recorded in 2023 and the highest number in decades, according to an AFP tally of official reports.
DECEMBER 5, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: UTTAR PRADESH MAN GIVEN DEATH PENALTY ON DRUG CHARGES
A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a man from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh to death on charges of drug trafficking, triggering panic and despair among his family members who have pleaded for clemency, PTI reported on December 4, 2024.