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
DECEMBER 1, 2011PakistanDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: DEATH UPHELD FOR TRIO IN MAKKAH MURDERS
the Supreme Court has upheld the death sentences issued in Saudi Arabia by
- NOVEMBER 29, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
NEPAL ASKS SAUDI TO DELAY YADAV'S EXECUTION
the Nepali embassy in Riyadh asked for a delay in the execution of Nepali migrant worker Umesh Yadav, 31, from Machijhitakaiya village of Dhanusha district, to ask the victim's relatives to grant a pardon in exchange for blood money.
- NOVEMBER 29, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia beheaded a man after he was convicted
Saudi Arabia beheaded a man after he was convicted of killing a drinking partner while they were consuming alcohol.
NOVEMBER 25, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI EXECUTED FOR KILLING SECURITY OFFICIAL
Fahd bin Saif Al-Qahtani was executed for killing security official Hasan bin Salem
NOVEMBER 23, 2011IraqDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: IRAQI MAN BEHEADED FOR MURDER
An Iraqi man was executed after being convicted of murdering a Saudi national in the kingdom's
- NOVEMBER 14, 2011ChadDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 2 CHADIANS, SAUDI BEHEADED FOR RAPE
Three men, a Saudi and two Chadians, were executed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
NOVEMBER 13, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: MAN EXECUTED FOR MURDER
A man convicted of murdering a fellow Saudi was beheaded in Najran, southern Saudi Arabia
- OCTOBER 27, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: FIVE INDONESIAN MAIDS ON DEATH ROW
five Indonesian maids sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia are appealing for clemency.
- OCTOBER 27, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: TWO MEN EXECUTED FOR MURDER
Saudi Arabia beheaded two men convicted of murder, one who ran over his victims and the other who deliberately hit his victim's car, the interior ministry announced.
OCTOBER 26, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: EMIRATI PAYS OVER $4M TO SAVE KILLER’S LIFE
in Saudi Arabia, an unknown UAE donor gave more than $4 million (Dh14.69m) to save a
OCTOBER 19, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: WOMAN EXECUTED FOR BURNING HUSBAND TO DEATH
A Saudi woman convicted of burning her husband to death was beheaded today, the
- OCTOBER 18, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: TWO MEN BEHEADED FOR RAPE
Two Saudi men were beheaded by the sword for rape in southwestern Saudi Arabia, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the kingdom's official news agency.
- OCTOBER 17, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA MAID FACING DEATH SENTENCE IN SAUDI
Tuti Tursilawati, an Indonesian maid from Cikeusik village, Majalengka, in West Java, was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia after Ramadan in 2011.
- OCTOBER 12, 2011YemenDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: FOUR EXECUTED FOR MURDER
two Saudi Arabian women were executed in Riyadh and two Yemenis were executed
OCTOBER 10, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: MAN BEHEADED FOR KILLING OWN GRANDMOTHER
A Saudi man convicted of murdering his own grandmother was beheaded in Medina in western
- OCTOBER 9, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 5 MORE BANGLADESHIS ON SAUDI DEATH ROW
“a Sharia court sentenced five Bangladeshis in Riyadh to death in three cases for murdering three compatriots,” Haroon-or-Rashid, Bangladesh's labour counsellor in Saudi Arabia, said.
- OCTOBER 9, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
a Saudi man convicted of murder was executed by the sword
a Saudi man convicted of murder was executed by the sword
- OCTOBER 7, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
two Saudis, convicted killers on death row, were executed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
two Saudis, convicted killers on death row, were executed in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
- OCTOBER 7, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed eight Bangladeshi nationals for their part in an armed robbery in
Saudi Arabia executed eight Bangladeshi nationals for their part in an armed robbery in
- OCTOBER 7, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 10 BEHEADED IN ONE DAY
Saudi Arabia executed eight Bangladeshi nationals and two Saudis for murder, the state
- OCTOBER 4, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
JORDANIANS PROTEST SAUDI ARABIA EXECUTION VERDICTS
Scores of Jordanians demonstrated in front of the Saudi Arabian embassy in Amman to protest
- SEPTEMBER 29, 2011SudanDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: PARDON SAVES KILLER FROM GALLOWS
a Sudanese man facing execution in Saudi Arabia after he was convicted of murdering a
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
a Saudi citizen was beheaded after he was convicted of murder.
a Saudi citizen was beheaded after he was convicted of murder.
- SEPTEMBER 22, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: YEMENI EXECUTED FOR MURDER
Yemeni national Abdulrazaq Al-Sayed was executed in the southwestern Saudi Arabian city of
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA EXECUTES MAN CONVICTED OF ‘SORCERY’
Sudanese national Abdul Hamid bin Hussain bin Moustafa al-Fakki was beheaded in
SEPTEMBER 18, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: PRISONER DIES DAY BEFORE EXECUTION
A convicted killer in a Saudi jail was found dead a day before he was to be executed
- SEPTEMBER 16, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN BEHEADED FOR MURDER
Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens by sword in Riyadh after he was convicted
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia beheaded a Syrian national accused of drug trafficking.
Saudi Arabia beheaded a Syrian national accused of drug trafficking.
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia beheaded a Saudi national convicted of murder.
Saudi Arabia beheaded a Saudi national convicted of murder.
- SEPTEMBER 14, 2011Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI BEHEADS MURDERER, SYRIAN SMUGGLER
Saudi Arabia beheaded a Saudi national convicted of murder and a Syrian accused of drug trafficking in the conservative kingdom's north, the interior ministry announced.