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
MAY 29, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: CONVICTED KILLER BEHEADED, PUT ON DISPLAY
Saudi Arabia executed a man for double murder and displayed his body in public as a deterrent, state media said.
MAY 28, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SAUDI BEHEADED FOR KIDNAP, SHOOTING
a Saudi Arabian man convicted of kidnapping a child and shooting a police officer was
- MAY 19, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN BEHEADED FOR MURDER
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a Saudi national for a murder resulting from a
- MAY 18, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: LAWSUIT OVER MUEED EXECUTION REJECTED
the Saudi Arabian Court of Grievances refused to consider the case of a 16-year-old Saudi whose father claims he was executed for a crime he committed when he was a minor.
- MAY 18, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN EXECUTED FOR MURDER
a Saudi Arabian man was beheaded in Riyadh after being convicted of murder, the
MAY 10, 2009ChadDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: FIVE CONVICTED CRIMINALS EXECUTED IN MADINAH
Five men sentenced to death for crimes including theft, child abduction, rape, and
- MAY 8, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: NIGERIAN NATIONAL EXECUTED FOR RAPE
a Nigerian national was executed in Saudi Arabia after being found guilty of sexually
- MAY 7, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: INDONESIAN MIGRANT WORKER IN SAUDI ARABIA SENTENCED TO DEATH
the family of Indonesian migrant worker Eti Toyib Anwar, 35, of Majalengka regency in West Java, asked the government's assistance after she was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for murdering her employer
- MAY 6, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: TWO YEMENI MEN BEHEADED
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded two Yemeni men convicted of fatally shooting a
- APRIL 26, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: INDIAN SPARED DEATH SENTENCE, RETURNS HOME
Indian national Abu Rafe, 27, who was sentenced to death by the Abha Central Court in Saudi Arabia in 2007 for murder, was set free by the same court.
- APRIL 25, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
INDONESIA: 14 INDONESIANS FACE DEATH SENTENCES IN SAUDI ARABIA
as many as 14 Indonesians are facing death sentence from Saudi Arabia courts for alleged involvements in several murder cases.
- APRIL 21, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: REVOKE DEATH PENALTY FOR MINORS: NSHR
the Saudi Arabian National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) called for “revoking capital punishment against minors who are not responsible for their actions,” said NSHR's Suhaila Zain Al-Abidine
- APRIL 21, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: YEMENI MAN BEHEADED OVER SHOOTING
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a Yemeni man convicted of fatally shooting a
- APRIL 20, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: WOMAN BEHEADED FOR FATALLY SHOOTING HUSBAND
Authorities have beheaded a Saudi woman convicted of shooting her husband and
APRIL 14, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: YEMENI BEHEADED FOR GARROTTING COMPATRIOT
a Yemeni was beheaded by the sword in Saudi Arabia for garrotting a compatriot with
- APRIL 13, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: DEATH ROW PRISONERS PARDONED
the Reconciliation Committee in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, secured pardons for two death row inmates some 48 hours before their scheduled execution. Awad and Amer were sentenced to death for murder
- APRIL 9, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN EXECUTED FOR RAPE, ROBBERY
a Saudi Arabian man convicted of rape and robbery was beheaded. An Interior
- APRIL 7, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: THREE PAKISTANIS BEHEADED FOR MURDER
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded three Pakistanis convicted of killing a fellow Pakistani man, the Interior Ministry said in a statement in state news agency SPA.
- APRIL 4, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI MAN BEHEADED AFTER CONVICTED OF MURDER
a Saudi Arabian man convicted of murdering a compatriot was beheaded by the sword, according to an Interior Ministry statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
- APRIL 2, 2009CanadaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI COURT UPHOLDS CANADIAN'S DEATH SENTENCE
a lower court in Saudi Arabia upheld the death penalty against a Canadian in the killing of a Syrian-born teenager, the Arab News reported.
MARCH 27, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: TWO EXECUTED FOR MANSLAUGHTER
two Saudi Arabian men were beheaded by the sword after being convicted of the
- MARCH 20, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Sri Lanka is still awaiting a written judgment...
Sri Lanka is still awaiting a written judgment on the ruling regarding the case involving two Sri Lankans who are facing execution in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, over having an illicit affair.
MARCH 16, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: MAN BEHEADED FOR MURDER
a Saudi Arabian man was beheaded by the sword for shooting dead a Bangladeshi
- MARCH 13, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: CRIMINAL GANG LEADER BEHEADED
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a man convicted of petty theft and running a
- MARCH 8, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: DEATH ROW PRISONERS SECURED PARDON
Mecca Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who is also chairman of the Reconciliation Committee in the province...
- MARCH 5, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
GOVT TO APPEAL ON BEHALF OF LANKANS ON DEATH ROW
the Sri Lankan government will appeal on behalf of two Sri Lankan nationals against whom death sentences were issued by a court in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- MARCH 3, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI MAN BEHEADED FOR MURDER
authorities beheaded a Saudi Arabian man convicted of murdering his mother and an Indonesian maid. An
- MARCH 3, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN ON DEATH ROW CHEATS DEATH TWICE
Jizan inmate Yahya Al-Mujaribi was spared execution a second time in Saudi Arabia.
- MARCH 2, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: SAUDI BEHEADED FOR KILLING HIS FATHER
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a citizen convicted of murdering his father following a dispute
FEBRUARY 23, 2009Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: PRISONER EXECUTED IN PUBLIC
a Saudi Arabian man sentenced to death for murder was beheaded in the western port city of