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
JUNE 17, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: YOUNG MAN ACCUSED OF PARTICIPATING IN REBELLION EXECUTED
Saudi Arabia on 15 June 2021 executed a young man who was convicted on charges stemming from his alleged participation in an anti-government rebellion by minority Shiites.
- JUNE 8, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
UNITED KINGDOM: FOREIGN SECRETARY URGED TO INTERVENE IN SAUDI ARABIA DEATH PENALTY CASES
The relatives of two men awaiting execution in Saudi Arabia on 7 June 2021 asked British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to press for their release while he visits the kingdom.
MAY 31, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: FATHER PARDONS SON’S KILLER MINUTES BEFORE EXECUTION
A convicted killer was “pardoned” by the Saudi father of his victim on 24 May 2021 morning, minutes before he was due to be executed.
- MAY 26, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS DEATH PENALTY FOR ‘DAMMAM KIDNAPPER’
Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court on 24 May 2021 upheld the verdict issued by a criminal court in Dammam in September 2020, awarding the death penalty to a Saudi woman known in the media as the “Dammam kidnapper,” and jail terms for three other defendants, loc
- MAY 11, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA TO RELEASE 1,100 PAKISTANI PRISONERS
Pakistan on 10 May 2021 said that 1,100 of its nationals imprisoned in Saudi Arabia will return to the country soon after agreements were reached with Riyadh on the release of inmates.
APRIL 12, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: 80% OF PEOPLE SENTENCED TO DEATH AS MINORS STILL FACE EXECUTION
Anti-death penalty group Reprieve said on 9 April 2021 that 80% of those sentenced to death for crimes in Saudi Arabia while minors still face execution despite reforms announced in 2020.
- APRIL 12, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 3 SOLDIERS EXECUTED FOR 'HIGH TREASON’
Saudi Arabia executed three soldiers on 10 April 2021 it accused of committing “high treason,” without elaborating on which enemy the kingdom believed the men aided.
- MARCH 30, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: SAUDI CITIZEN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING BANGLADESHI
A court in Saudi Arabia on 24 March 2021 sentenced Umar al-Shammeri, a Saudi Arabian citizen, to death for killing Bangladeshi immigrant Sagar Patwari in Dammam of the country 15 years ago.
- MARCH 11, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: 5 DAESH MEMBERS SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR ASSASSINATING OFFICER, BLOWING UP MOSQUES
A preliminary death sentence was issued on 11 March 2021 in Saudi Arabia against five members of a cell affiliated with the terrorist group Daesh.
- FEBRUARY 16, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: SAUDI NATIONAL HANDED DEATH PENALTY FOR MURDER OF BANGLADESHI WOMAN
A criminal court in Riyadh on 14 February 2021 handed a Saudi national the death penalty for the murder of a Bangladeshi domestic worker.
FEBRUARY 13, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: EGYPTIAN ALI ABU AL-QASIM’S DEATH SENTENCE REDUCED TO 25 YEARS IN PRISON
Saudi Arabia’s Tabuk Criminal Court sentenced on 11 February 2021 Egyptian engineer Ali Abul-Qasim to 25 years in prison after cancelling a death penalty over his conviction in a drug trafficking case.
FEBRUARY 8, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: THREE YOUTHS GET PRISON SENTENCE INSTEAD OF DEATH
Three young Saudi men who faced death sentences for acts they were accused of committing as minors have been handed a 10-year prison sentence instead, the Saudi Human Rights Commission said on 7 February 2021.
- JANUARY 19, 2021Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: DRAMATIC DROP IN EXECUTIONS AFTER LAWS CHANGED IN 2020
Saudi Arabia, for years one of the world's most prolific executioners, dramatically reduced the number of people put to death last year, following changes halting executions for non-violent drug-related crimes, according to the government’s tally and inde
- DECEMBER 7, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR KILLING SECURITY OFFICERS
A Saudi court on 3 December 2020 sentenced one man to death for killing two security personnel on the border with Yemen, according to Saudi media.
OCTOBER 22, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: JUVENILE OFFENDERS WILL NOT FACE DEATH PENALTY, SAYS SAUDI HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION
Saudi Arabia’s Human Rights Commission (HRC) has reiterated that juvenile offenders will not face the death penalty in kingdom, Gulf News reported on 22 October 2020.
SEPTEMBER 16, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: TWO BROTHERS GET DEATH PENALTY FOR KILLING THEIR MOTHER
Saudi Arabia has awarded on 14 September 2020 the death penalty to two Saudi brothers associated with Daesh (the so-called IS) terrorist outfit. They were convicted of killing their mother and attempting to murder their father and brother.
- SEPTEMBER 10, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: TWO MILITANTS SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER TERROR ATTACK
A Saudi court on 9 September 2020 sentenced two militants to death on charges of involvement in a 2014 attack on a Shiite gathering and links to the terrorist Daesh group, the news portal Sabq reported.
SEPTEMBER 8, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: DEATH SENTENCES COMMUTED IN JAMAL KHASHOGGI MURDER CASE
A court in Saudi Arabia on 7 September 2020 commuted the death sentences handed to five people convicted over the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi.
- SEPTEMBER 7, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: DEATH FOR THREE MEMBERS OF AL-HARAZAT TERROR CELL
A Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh sentenced on 6 September 2020 three members of a terrorist cell, known as “Al-Harazat”, to death for their involvement in several attacks across Saudi Arabia.
SEPTEMBER 3, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SEVEN ISLAMIST MILITANTS SENTENCED TO DEATH OVER KILLINGS OF SHI'ITES
A Saudi court has sentenced seven Islamic State militants to death over a 2014 shooting attack that killed eight Shi'ite Muslims near the eastern city of al-Ahsa, state television reported on 2 September 2020.
JUNE 25, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: LONGEST-SERVING PRISONER EXECUTED AFTER COUSIN’S FAMILY REJECT PARDON
Saudi Arabia's longest-serving prisoner was put to death on 23 June 2020, following a decades-long battle for a pardon from the family of his victim, which saw his impended execution delayed.
- MAY 23, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: KHASHOGGI'S SONS FORGIVE SAUDI KILLERS, SPARING 5 EXECUTION
The family of slain Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi announced on 22 May 2020 they have forgiven his Saudi killers, giving legal reprieve to the five government agents who'd been sentenced to death for an operation that cast a cloud of suspicion
MAY 3, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: ON ANNIVERSARY OF MASS EXECUTION, FAMILIES PLEAD FOR RETURN OF THEIR LOVED ONES' REMAINS
It has been exactly one year since 37 people were executed on a single day in Saudi Arabia, and none of the bodies are known to have been returned to their families, according to human rights activists, ABC News reported on 23 April 2020.
APRIL 30, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: EGYPTIAN ENGINEER ON DEATH ROW EXONERATED
An Egyptian engineer who was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia in 2017 on charges of smuggling drugs to the Kingdom was acquitted of charges, his brother told Egypt Today on 26 April 2020, saying the ruling is almost final.
APRIL 29, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: ABOLITION OF DEATH PENALTY FOR MINORS COVERS TERROR CONVICTS
The royal order staying the execution of minors who received final death sentences covers all individuals who were under the age of 18 at the time of committing the crime, including those sentenced to death on terrorism charges, Saudi Human Rights Commiss
- APRIL 27, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA ENDS EXECUTIONS FOR CRIMES COMMITTED BY MINORS
Saudi Arabia's King Salman has ordered an end to the death penalty for crimes committed by minors, according to a statement on 26 April 2020 by a top official.
- APRIL 26, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA ABOLISHES FLOGGING AS PUNISHMENT
Saudi Arabia has abolished flogging as a form of punishment, the country's supreme court announced on 25 April 2020.
- APRIL 16, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
SAUDI ARABIA: YEMENI MAN EXECUTED FOR TERRORIST ATTACK DURING RIYADH SEASON
A Yemeni man, who was on a death row for carrying out a terrorist attack on artists performing on stage during Riyadh Season Festival, has been executed, Saudi Press Agency reported on 16 April 2020 citing a statement from the Ministry of Interior.
APRIL 15, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: 800 EXECUTIONS CARRIED OUT UNDER KING SALMAN
Saudi Arabia has carried out the 800th execution of King Salman bin Abdulaziz's five years of rule, human rights organisation Reprieve said on 14 April 2020.
MARCH 2, 2020Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTYSAUDI ARABIA: SUPREME COURT HANDS DOWN LIFE TERM TO IMPRISONED SHIA DISSIDENT
The Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia has sentenced an imprisoned political dissident from the oil-rich Eastern Province to life in prison, AhlulBayt News Agency reported on 1st March 2020.