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
- 1,877
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 1,877 news items on Saudi Arabia, from 1999 to today.
In Saudi Arabia the death penalty applies to murder, drug offences, terrorism and certain offences under sharia law. The usual method is beheading, in some cases carried out in public. Executions are often announced in groups by the official press agency and a significant share of them involve foreign nationals.
The system of diya, the compensation a victim's family may accept in place of an execution, leaves some sentences reversible until the last moment. The archive gathers official announcements, individual cases and the campaigns to stop them.
Latest news
OCTOBER 4, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSaudi national beheaded in Taef
4 October 2018: Turki bin Nasser bin Sharid al-Dosari executed for murder
- OCTOBER 2, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national beheaded in Arar
2 October 2018: Hani Rabie Madhi al-Ruwaili executed for murder
- SEPTEMBER 27, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Pakistani national beheaded in Wadi Al-Dawaser Governorate
27 September 2018: Muhammad Jan Hamid Khan executed for heroin smuggle
- SEPTEMBER 25, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national beheaded in Jeddah
25 September 2018: Lafi bin Mohammed bin Menir al-Majnuni executed for murder
SEPTEMBER 19, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: THREE MUSLIM CLERICS MAY BE EXECUTED
Three leading clerics in Saudi Arabia may be executed on charges of promoting an extremist agenda, rights activists claim, La Croix International reported on September 18, 2018.
- SEPTEMBER 18, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: CITIZEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SHOOTING POLICE OFFICER ’30 TIMES’
Saudi Arabia’s specialised criminal court sentenced a man to death on September 16, 2018 for shooting and killing a police officer.
- SEPTEMBER 11, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national beheaded in Jezan
11 September 2018: Mohammed bin Hassan bin Ahmed Mubarak executed for murder
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi citizen beheaded in Riyad
6 September 2018: Aayedh bin Mutaab bin Ali Hanbashi executed for murder
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Egyptian citizen beheaded in Riyad
6 September 2018: Mohamed Radwan Ahmed Yassin executed for murder
- SEPTEMBER 5, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Egyptian national beheaded in Asir
5 September 2018: Mohammed Ahmed Mohamed Abdel Halim executed for murder
- SEPTEMBER 3, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national beheaded in Abha
3 September 2018: Gibran bin Salem bin Joueid al-Qahtani executed for murder
- SEPTEMBER 3, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI NATIONAL EXECUTED FOR SHOOTING AND KILLING MAN IN ASIR
A Saudi national was executed in the kingdom for shooting and killing a man in the region of Asir, the kingdom’s interior ministry announced.
- AUGUST 15, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Two Saudi citizens beheaded in Rivadeh
15 August 2018: Abed allah al-Qahtani and Turki al-Qahtani executed for murder
- AUGUST 13, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national beheaded in Tae
13 August 2018: Sael bin Hilal al-Harthi executed for murder
- AUGUST 8, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Myanmar national crucified in Mecca
8 August 2018: Elias Abulkalaam Jamaleddeen executed
AUGUST 8, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA CARRIES OUT RARE CRUCIFIXION FOR MURDER, THEFT
Saudi Arabia executed and crucified a Myanmar man in the holy city of Mecca in a rare form of punishment reserved for the most egregious crimes.
AUGUST 7, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SMUGGLING WEAPONS TO TARGET SECURITY IN QATIF
The Saudi Specialized Criminal Court sentenced a Saudi national to death for receiving funds and weapons smuggled by sea from abroad.
- AUGUST 6, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi citizen beheaded in Rivadeh
6 August 2018: Mohamamd bin Ibrahim al-Farhan executed for murder
AUGUST 3, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: YEMENI SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR TARGETING MILITARY FACILITIES
The Saudi judiciary issued a preliminary ruling for a death sentence against a resident of Yemeni nationality, on charges of attacking vital and military sites and facilities.
- AUGUST 2, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Pakistani national beheaded in Rivadeh
2 August 2018: Beer Zada Mal Zada executed for heroin smuggle
- AUGUST 1, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi citizen beheaded in Tabook
1 August 2018: Salim al-Amrani executed for drugs smuggle
- JULY 31, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Ethiopian citizen beheaded in Jazan
31 July 2018: Soltan Soliman Redaah executed for drugs smuggle
- JULY 30, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national beheaded in Mecca
30 July 2018: Hashim al-Zahrani executed for murder
- JULY 29, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national beheaded in Geddah
29 July 2018: Hadi al-Dgheere executed for murder
- JULY 26, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Pakistani citizen beheaded in Rivadeh
26 July 2018: Shahzad Neem Khan executed for heroin smuggle
- JULY 25, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national beheaded in Rivadeh
25 July 2018: Hadra bin Hamad executed for murder
- JULY 22, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi citizen beheaded in Rivadeh
22 July 2018: Naser Bin Nafat executed for murder
- JULY 22, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Pakistani national beheaded in Geddah
22 July 2018: Safeer Ahmad Safeer executed for heroin smuggle
- JULY 19, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Ethiopian woman beheaded in Geddah
19 July 2018: Easheeto Mohamamd executed for murder
- JULY 17, 2018Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Seven executed in Saudi Arabia
July 17, 2018: statement by Interior Ministry