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
- MARCH 1, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
James Sampson, father of William Sampson, a Canadian...
James Sampson, father of William Sampson, a Canadian facing a death sentence in Saudi Arabia arrived in the kingdom to meet his son
- FEBRUARY 19, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Women confront death with "nerves of steel" while men...
Women confront death with "nerves of steel" while men often collapse with fear, Saudi Arabia's most senior executioner was reported as saying
- FEBRUARY 3, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia reportedly sentenced a Yemeni national...
Saudi Arabia reportedly sentenced a Yemeni national to death for insulting the religion of his roommate
- JANUARY 30, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
In a resolution the European Parliament called for...
In a resolution the European Parliament called for the United States, Iran, China, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Congo and others to introduce a moratorium on executions "with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty
- JANUARY 21, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
The Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines...
The Department of Foreign Affairs in the Philippines stated that there were nineteen Filipino nationals awaiting execution in Saudi Arabian prisons
- JANUARY 8, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saud bin Jebran bin Qalet al-Shahrani, convicted of...
Saud bin Jebran bin Qalet al-Shahrani, convicted of murdering his wife and mother-in-law was beheaded by sword in the southwestern province of Assir
- JANUARY 8, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
The executive committee of the Spanish Federation of...
The executive committee of the Spanish Federation of Islamic Religious Entities (Federación Española de Entidades Religiosas Islámicas - FEERI) formally requested Saudi Arabia to abolish death-by-stoning
- JANUARY 1, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic...
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic Sharia law
- JANUARY 1, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Many of the announced Saudi executions are for murder...
Many of the announced Saudi executions are for murder and rape, but a wide range of violent and non-violent crimes are also punished by decapitation, including: armed robbery; drug-trafficking; witchcraft; adultery; sodomy; same-sex relations; highway r
- JANUARY 1, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Executions take place in public in the conservative...
Executions take place in public in the conservative kingdom, and by beheading
- JANUARY 1, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
In 2002, Saudi Arabia allowed for the first time access...
In 2002, Saudi Arabia allowed for the first time access to a UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judiciary
- JANUARY 1, 2003Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
In 2002, Hands Off Cain counted 49 executions, including...
In 2002, Hands Off Cain counted 49 executions, including at least one woman
- DECEMBER 17, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Three Saudi men were beheaded in public with a sword...
Three Saudi men were beheaded in public with a sword after being found guilty of an armed robbery
- DECEMBER 13, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Badr bin Ghazi al-Utaibi was publicly beheaded for murder
Badr bin Ghazi al-Utaibi was publicly beheaded for murder
- DECEMBER 4, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi King Fahd commuted the death sentences of 17...
Saudi King Fahd commuted the death sentences of 17 Saudis convicted of rioting, ordering them to instead serve 10 years in jail, the Interior Ministry said
- NOVEMBER 1, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia beheaded two Saudi men convicted of murder,...
Saudi Arabia beheaded two Saudi men convicted of murder, the official Saudi Press Agency reported
- OCTOBER 28, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed a Palestinian man, identified...
Saudi Arabia executed a Palestinian man, identified as Emad al-Deeb, who burnt his father to death after an argument, the Interior Ministry said
- OCTOBER 28, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
UN's special rapporteur of the Commission on the independence...
UN's special rapporteur of the Commission on the independence of judges and lawyers Dato'Param Cumaraswamy has expressed appreciation for facilitating his mission, and said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had shown utmost cooperation with him, as well as expr
- OCTOBER 28, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
UN's special rapporteur of the Commission on the independence...
UN's special rapporteur of the Commission on the independence of judges and lawyers Dato'Param Cumaraswamy has expressed appreciation for facilitating his mission, and said the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia had shown utmost cooperation with him, as well as expr
- OCTOBER 22, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A special UN human rights envoy on an unprecedented...
A special UN human rights envoy on an unprecedented visit to Saudi Arabia held talks with the kingdom's Islamic affairs minister and a top judiciary official
- OCTOBER 22, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A special UN human rights envoy on an unprecedented...
A special UN human rights envoy on an unprecedented visit to Saudi Arabia held talks with the kingdom's Islamic affairs minister and a top judiciary official
- OCTOBER 21, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A Saudi man and a woman were beheaded for murdering...
A Saudi man and a woman were beheaded for murdering a Saudi man and stealing his money and car, the Interior Ministry said
- OCTOBER 21, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
The United Nations' special human rights envoy Dato...
The United Nations' special human rights envoy Dato Param Coomarasawamy arrived in Saudi Arabia on an unprecedented visit
- OCTOBER 21, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
The United Nations' special human rights envoy Dato...
The United Nations' special human rights envoy Dato Param Coomarasawamy arrived in Saudi Arabia on an unprecedented visit
- OCTOBER 20, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
An man was publicly beheaded for a drug related crime
An man was publicly beheaded for a drug related crime
- OCTOBER 15, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed Ayman Hazazi a Saudi man for...
Saudi Arabia executed Ayman Hazazi a Saudi man for kidnapping and raping a girl
- SEPTEMBER 27, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A Saudi lawyer for a William Sampson, a Canadian man...
A Saudi lawyer for a William Sampson, a Canadian man on trial in Riyadh over a fatal bombing denied widespread reports his client had already been sentenced to death and expressed confidence that he and his co-accused would soon be freed
- SEPTEMBER 26, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Lawyers for Canadian businessman William Sampson, who...
Lawyers for Canadian businessman William Sampson, who is facing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia over a fatal bombing allege their client and his co-accused were tortured and had their confessions beaten out of them
- SEPTEMBER 23, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
An influential organization of Roman Catholic bishops...
An influential organization of Roman Catholic bishops urged the Philippine government to blacklist Saudi Arabia as a work destination over the scheduled beheadings of Filipinos convicted by Islamic courts there
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2002Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A Saudi appeals court upheld death sentences against...
A Saudi appeals court upheld death sentences against three Saudi nationals, one in absentia, for the 2000 murder of a 20-year-old Saudi man in the United States