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
- 1,878
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 1,878 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
- MAY 26, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN WHO SHOT AT POLICE PATROL SENTENCED TO DEATH
A court in Saudi Arabia has sentenced a Shia man to death for shooting at a police patrol and learning how to
MAY 7, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: BLOGGER RAIF BADAWI GETS 10 YEAR JAIL SENTENCE
A Saudi court imprisoned blogger Raif Badawi for 10 years for "insulting Islam" and setting up a liberal web
MAY 6, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: COURT ORDERS TWO THIEVES' HANDS CUT OFF
A Saudi court ordered the severing of the right hands of two thieves accused of stealing sheep in line with
MAY 5, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SR30 MILLION RAISED TO SAVE NATIONAL FROM EXECUTION
A Saudi court annulled the death sentence and ordered the release of a 21-year-old convicted local killer
MAY 4, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: DEATH SENTENCE FOR 'GET RICH QUICK' ROBBERS
Four men have been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia over a “get rich quick” robbery plan, it was
APRIL 21, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: 8 SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR 2003 RIYADH ATTACK
A Saudi court sentenced eight people to death and 77 others to prison on charges related to attacks against
APRIL 16, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: A MAN BEHEADED FOR MURDER IN RIAD
a Saudi citizen, Mohammed Matrak Mohammed al-Dosari, was beheaded in Riyadh after being convicted
APRIL 5, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH SENTENCE FOR CHILD RAPIST
Saudi Arabia's supreme court has upheld a death sentence handed down against a teacher convicted of
APRIL 4, 2014IndonesiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: INDONESIA MAID ON DEATH ROW SPARED EXECUTION
An Indonesian maid on death row in Saudi Arabia for murder has been spared execution after the Indonesian government agreed to pay the remainder of the blood money she was due to pay.
APRIL 3, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: DEATH SENTENCE FOR TERRORIST
A special court in Riyadh has sentenced a man to death for his involvement in terror activities including
- MARCH 23, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI BEHEADS ANOTHER MAN FOR MURDER
A Saudi man convicted of shooting dead a compatriot in a dispute was beheaded by the sword, the interior ministry said.
- MARCH 8, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: KING ABDULLAH ORDERS 3 MONTHS REPRIEVE FOR ALL DEATH ROW INMATES
Saudi King Abdullah ordered the execution of all qizas or death penalty cases to be deferred for three
- FEBRUARY 26, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI BEHEADED FOR KILLING COMPATRIOT
Saudi Arabia beheaded one its citizens in the Eastern Province after he was convicted of murdering a
- FEBRUARY 23, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI EXECUTES 10TH CONVICT THIS YEAR
A Saudi citizen convicted of murder was beheaded today, the interior ministry announced, bringing the number of executions in the kingdom this year to 10.
- FEBRUARY 12, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: ON DEATH ROW FOR SORCERY, MAID SPARED BY KING
Ati Bt Abeh Inan, an Indonesian housemaid on death row for sorcery, was released and sent back to
- FEBRUARY 5, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi national Turki Ahmed al-Salami was executed in the Asir region after he was convicted of shooting
Saudi national Turki Ahmed al-Salami was executed in the Asir region after he was convicted of shooting
- FEBRUARY 5, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Mohammed Asharaf Ramadan, a Pakistani national, was beheaded in Riyadh over alleged charges of drug
Mohammed Asharaf Ramadan, a Pakistani national, was beheaded in Riyadh over alleged charges of drug
- FEBRUARY 4, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi authorities beheaded three citizens in three different cities, after convicting them of separate murders.
Saudi authorities beheaded three citizens in three different cities, after convicting them of separate murders.
- FEBRUARY 2, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: ONE MAN BEHEADED FOR MURDER
Saudi authorities beheaded a citizen in the city of Arar after he was convicted of murder, the
- JANUARY 30, 2014IndiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: INDIAN WORKER BEHEADED FOR MURDER
An Indian worker convicted of murdering a Saudi was beheaded by the sword in the Riyadh region, the
- JANUARY 14, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
a Saudi court sentenced two suspected al-Qaeda members to death for the 2007 murder of four French
a Saudi court sentenced two suspected al-Qaeda members to death for the 2007 murder of four French
JANUARY 14, 2014PakistanDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: TWO PAKISTANIS BEHEADED IN YEAR’S FIRST EXECUTIONS
Saudi authorities beheaded two Pakistanis for drug smuggling in the kingdom’s first executions of the year,
- JANUARY 7, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: JAIL, 99 LASHES FOR 7 SAUDI MEN CAUGHT AT MIXED PARTY WITH ALCOHOL
A Saudi court sentenced seven men to long jail terms and ordered them lashed 99 times each in front of a
- JANUARY 2, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: TABUK EMIR’S INTERVENTION SAVES MAN FROM DEATH ROW
mediation efforts by Tabuk Emir Prince Fahd Bin Sultan paved the way for the family of a murder
- JANUARY 1, 2014Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law
DECEMBER 31, 2013PakistanDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: A PAKISTANI MAN EXECUTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Saudi authorities beheaded a Pakistani man after he was convicted of smuggling drugs into the kingdom, the
- DECEMBER 29, 2013Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MEMBER OF THE KINGDOM'S RULING FAMILY FACES DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER
a newspaper reported a Saudi prince who murdered a fellow Saudi may be executed, in a rare example of a
- DECEMBER 25, 2013Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: BLOGGER SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR APOSTASY
Raif Badawi, a Saudi blogger who has been in prison since June 2012 for violating the nation’s anti-
- DECEMBER 20, 2013Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Anad al-Amrani, a Saudi national, was beheaded in Tabuk after being found guilty of smuggling
Anad al-Amrani, a Saudi national, was beheaded in Tabuk after being found guilty of smuggling
- DECEMBER 19, 2013Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI PRINCE SAVES KILLER FROM EXECUTION
A Saudi sentenced to death for killing another citizen is set to walk free after mediation by