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
APRIL 8, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: FATHER PARDONS SON’S KILLER DAYS BEFORE EXECUTION
Saudi citizen Ati Al Maliki in Mecca has granted a pardon to the killer of his son Abdullah, just days before the scheduled execution set for April 17, without seeking any compensation in return, Gulf News reported on April 7, 2024.
- MARCH 7, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: FIVE PAKISTANIS EXECUTED FOR MURDER DURING ARMED ROBBERY
Five Pakistanis have been executed on March 5, 2024 in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on charges of killing a watchman during an armed robbery.
- MARCH 2, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: FIVE YEMENIS EXECUTED IN LATEST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT WAVE
Saudi Arabia on February 28, 2024 executed five Yemeni nationals charged with murder and robbery, state media reported, bringing the number of executions in the kingdom this year to 34.
FEBRUARY 28, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: 7 EXECUTED FOR 'TERRORISM' OFFENSES, STATE MEDIA SAY
Saudi Arabia executed seven people for "terrorism" offenses on February 27, 2024, state media said, the highest single-day figure since 81 were put to death in March 2022.
FEBRUARY 4, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: 4 EXPATS EXECUTED FOR KILLING SUDANESE
Saudi Arabia on January 31, 2024 executed four Ethiopian expatriates on charges of murdering a Sudanese national.
FEBRUARY 1, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: CITIZEN EXECUTED FOR TERRORISM
Saudi Arabia on January 30, 2024 carried out its first death penalty this year after executing a citizen convicted of terrorist acts in the country's Eastern Province.
- JANUARY 2, 2024Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: AT LEAST 172 PEOPLE EXECUTED IN 2023
Saudi Arabia carried out at least 172 executions in 2023, despite renewed promises from the Kingdom’s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to limit the scope of capital punishment.
- DECEMBER 31, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: FOUR PEOPLE EXECUTED ON NEW YEAR’S EVE
Sauri Arabia executed four people on New Year’s Eve, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
- DECEMBER 26, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 2 BANGLADESHIS EXECUTED FOR KILLING AN INDIAN
Two expatriates were executed in Saudi Arabia after they had been convicted in a final court ruling of murdering a man by spraying an insecticide into his mouth, Gulf News reported on December 23, 2023.
- DECEMBER 20, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN EXECUTED FOR STABBING MUM, SISTER TO DEATH
Saudi authorities have executed a citizen after he had been convicted of fatally stabbing his mother and sister and burnt their bodies.
OCTOBER 18, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: CHILD DEFENDANT AT IMMINENT RISK OF EXECUTION
Abdullah al-Derazi is a child defendant at risk of imminent execution in Saudi Arabia, despite repeated claims by Saudi authorities that they have abolished the death penalty for children.
- OCTOBER 3, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
RELATIVES OF SAUDIS FACING EXECUTION URGE ‘ASHAMED’ CROWN PRINCE TO ACT
Relatives of Saudis facing heavy sentences for social media posts are calling on the kingdom’s de facto ruler to take action after he voiced shame over their cases.
- SEPTEMBER 20, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: TWO MILITARY PERSONNEL EXECUTED FOR TREASON
Saudi Arabia's defence ministry has executed two military personnel who were accused of committing treason among other offences, the state news agency (SPA) said on September 14, 2023.
- SEPTEMBER 12, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA EXECUTES US NATIONAL CONVICTED OF KILLING EGYPTIAN FATHER
Saudi Arabia on August 16, 2023 executed a US national convicted of torturing and killing his father, state media reported, bringing to at least 19 the number of foreigners put to death this year.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA EXECUTES MORE THAN 100 PEOPLE THIS YEAR
The Saudi authorities have executed more than 100 people this year, hitting a new milestone that Amnesty International considers reveals its “chilling disregard for the right to life.”
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR CRITICIZING GOVERNMENT ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Saudi Arabia has sentenced to death a government critic who denounced alleged corruption and human rights abuses on social media, his brother and others familiar with the case told AFP on August 28, 2023.
JULY 25, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: TWO SAUDI NATIONALS EXECUTED FOR KILLING PARENTS, SIBLINGS
Two Saudi nationals were executed on July 24, 2023 in Mecca for killing their parents and siblings, the Kingdom’s Ministry of Interior said.
- JULY 18, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: TWO NATIONALS EXECUTED AFTER SHOOTING POLICEMAN, SECURITY VEHICLE
Two Saudi Arabian nationals on July 16, 2023 were executed in Saudi Arabia after they shot at a policeman and a security vehicle while covering for armed suspects.
JULY 3, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: EGYPTIAN, FOUR SAUDIS EXECUTED FOR TERRORISM
Saudi Arabia on July 3, 2023 put to death five people convicted of carrying out a deadly attack on a house of worship, state media said, the biggest group execution this year.
- JUNE 26, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: TWO YEMENIS EXECUTED FOR TERRORISM OFFENSES
Saudi Arabia on June 24, 2023 executed two Yemeni men for joining a terrorist group, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) has reported.
JUNE 21, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SHIA MAN FROM QATIF REGION EXECUTED OVER TERROR CHARGES
Saudi authorities have executed a young man from the Shia-populated Qatif region over allegations of involvement in terrorist activities, as part of a heavy-handed crackdown led by Saudi Arabia’s crown prince against political dissidents.
JUNE 17, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: MURDERER OF SAUDI FLIGHT ATTENDANT EXECUTED
The death penalty of a Saudi murderer, who was convicted of burning alive his friend, was carried out in the Makkah region on June 15, 2023, the Ministry of Interior said in a statement.
JUNE 12, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: THREE EXECUTED OVER OFFICER'S KILLING
Saudi Arabia put to death three of its citizens on June 11, 2023 convicted of having killed a security officer and creating a "terrorist cell", the interior ministry said.
- JUNE 5, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 3 PEOPLE EXECUTED IN SHIA-POPULATED EASTERN REGION
Saudi Arabia announced the execution of three men in the Shia-populated Eastern Province for “joining a terrorist cell, possessing weapons and armed assault on security centers and security men."
- JUNE 4, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: NEPAL MAN EXECUTED AFTER CONVICTION FOR STABBING SAUDI TO DEATH
Saudi Arabia on June 1st 2023 executed a Nepali national after his conviction for stabbing a Saudi to death.
- MAY 30, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA EXECUTES TWO BAHRAINIS ACCUSED OF ‘TERRORISM’
Saudi Arabia has put to death two Bahrainis accused of plotting “terrorist” operations, the Saudi Ministry of Interior said on May 29, 2023, raising the number of similar executions to nine this month.
MAY 27, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SAUDI NATIONAL EXECUTED FOR JOINING MILITARY CAMP IN ‘HOSTILE’ COUNTRY
A Saudi national in the Eastern Province was executed on May 23, 2023 for communicating with a “hostile country” and joining a military camp there, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
- MAY 25, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: THREE SAUDIS EXECUTED ON TERROR CHARGES
Three Saudis on May 22, 2023 were executed in the Eastern Province for joining a military camp outside the Kingdom to serve a “terrorist organization.”
- MAY 16, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: SAUDI MAN EXECUTED FOR FORMING TERRORIST GROUP TO CARRY OUT ATTACKS WITHIN KINGDOM
A Saudi national in al-Qassim was executed on May 15, 2023 for forming and orchestrating a terrorist group.
- MAY 15, 2023Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: SAUDI MAN EXECUTED IN EASTERN PROVINCE FOR MURDERING EX-WIFE
A Saudi national in the Eastern Province was executed on May 13, 2023 for killing his ex-wife, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).