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
- NOVEMBER 21, 2007PakistanDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI AUTHORITIES BEHEAD PAKISTANI CONVICTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a Pakistani man convicted of smuggling heroin into the kingdom...
- NOVEMBER 19, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI AUTHORITIES BEHEAD SAUDI MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a Saudi man convicted of fatally stabbing another compatriot over a dispute, the Interior Ministry said.
- NOVEMBER 19, 2007PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
FILIPINO SPARED FROM DEATH IN TAIF REUNITED WITH FAMILY
Ronilo Arandia, a Filipino driver working in Saudi Arabia, who was spared from execution in Taif, arrived back in the Philippines.
- NOVEMBER 15, 2007GhanaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA BEHEADS GHANIAN FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a Ghanian man convicted of smuggling cocaine in his intestinal tract...
- NOVEMBER 12, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: COURT UPHOLDS DEATH VERDICT ON ‘ABU KAB’
the General Court in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, upheld the death sentence it previously passed on Faisal Al-Otaibi (also known as Abu Kab), who was convicted of killing three children while joyriding in the northern part of Jeddah Corniche in 2005.
- NOVEMBER 11, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: PRISONER BEHEADED FOR KIDNAP AND RAPE
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a Saudi citizen...
NOVEMBER 10, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA. PAKISTANI EXECUTED FOR DRUG SMUGGLING
a Pakistani man was beheaded by the sword in Saudi Arabia after he was convicted of drug smuggling, th
- NOVEMBER 9, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
MAN BEHEADED IN SAUDI ARABIA FOR MURDER
in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed al-Fifi was executed in the north-western city of Tabuk.
NOVEMBER 8, 2007PakistanDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA. PAKISTANI EXECUTED FOR DRUG TRAFFICKING
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a Pakistani man convicted of smuggling heroin into the kingdom, the
- NOVEMBER 6, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI BEHEADED FOR MURDER OF COMPATRIOT
a Saudi Arabian man was beheaded by the sword for stabbing to death a compatriot.
- NOVEMBER 2, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI EXECUTES EGYPTIAN FOR PRACTISING "WITCHCRAFT"
Saudi Arabia executed an Egyptian man convicted of "sorcery", desecrating the Muslim holy book and adultery, the official news agency said.
- NOVEMBER 1, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI BEHEADS 2 SAUDIS, YEMENI FOR MURDERS
a Saudi Arabian man was beheaded by authorities after being convicted of bludgeoning his own grandmother to death to steal her money, the interior ministry said.
- OCTOBER 31, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI BEHEADS 5 NATIONALS FOR MURDER, RAPE OF TEENAGER
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded five Saudi men convicted of killing and raping a teenager, the Interior Ministry said.
- OCTOBER 30, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI NATIONAL EXECUTED FOR MURDER
the Saudi Arabian news agency SPA website carried a Saudi Interior Ministry...
- OCTOBER 30, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Ibrahim al-Saeed was beheaded in public for murder.
Ibrahim al-Saeed was beheaded in public for murder.
- OCTOBER 28, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN BEHEADED BY SWORD FOR MURDER
a Saudi national was beheaded by the sword after being convicted...
- OCTOBER 27, 2007BangladeshDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA. THREE BANGLADESHIS EXECUTED FOR ROBBERY, SEXUAL ASSAULT
three Bangladeshis were beheaded in Saudi Arabia after
- OCTOBER 25, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA. PAKISTANI BEHEADED FOR MURDER
Saudi Arabia beheaded by the sword Shahid Jameel, a Pakistani national
- OCTOBER 25, 2007PakistanDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA. PAKISTANI NATIONAL EXECUTED FOR SMUGGLING HEROIN
the Saudi Arabian news agency SPA website carried a Saudi Interior Ministry
OCTOBER 24, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA. MAN BEHEADED FOR AIDING PRISONER ESCAPE
the Saudi news agency SPA website carried a Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry statement saying that the
- OCTOBER 23, 2007New ZealandDEATH PENALTY
PM APPEALS FOR SAUDI MAN'S STAY OF EXECUTION
the New Zealand Prime Minister, Helen Clark...
- AUGUST 23, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI EXECUTED FOR MURDER IN ASIR REGION
the Saudi Arabian news agency SPA website carried a Saudi Interior Ministry...
- AUGUST 20, 2007IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIANS ON DEATH ROW SEEK PARDON
two Indian nationals sentenced to death on drug smuggling charges in Saudi Arabia appealed to King Abdullah for clemency on humanitarian and compassionate grounds.
- AUGUST 20, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA BEHEADS YOUTH CONVICTED OF MURDERING STEPMOTHER WHILE A MINOR
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a Saudi national convicted of fatally shooting his stepmother while he was still a minor. The execution took place in the Muslim holy city of Mecca.
- AUGUST 17, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
DP TWO SAUDIS BEHEADED FOR MURDER, RAPE
a Saudi Arabian national was beheaded by the sword for murdering
- AUGUST 17, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
a Saudi Arabian national was beheaded by the sword for rape
a Saudi Arabian national was beheaded by the sword for rape
- AUGUST 7, 2007PakistanDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI AUTHORITIES BEHEAD PAKISTANI CONVICTED OF DRUG TRAFFICKING
Saudi Arabian authorities beheaded a Pakistani man convicted of smuggling heroin into the kingdom...
- AUGUST 4, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: ‘ABO KAB’ NO LONGER FACES DEATH SENTENCE
an appeals court threw out the death-penalty verdict for a Saudi Arabian youth found guilty of negligent homicide in the death of three boys and the injury of two others two years ago in a stunt-driving accident.
- AUGUST 4, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Rahatullah Ghareeb Gul was beheaded in public for drug-related crimes.
Rahatullah Ghareeb Gul was beheaded in public for drug-related crimes.
- AUGUST 3, 2007Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia beheaded two Pakistanis and a Nigerian for drug smuggling.
Saudi Arabia beheaded two Pakistanis and a Nigerian for drug smuggling.