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
- FEBRUARY 8, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A Saudi man, Matruk Bin-Bunayyan Bin-Talaq al-Karshami...
A Saudi man, Matruk Bin-Bunayyan Bin-Talaq al-Karshami al-Utaybi, was executed near the holy city of Mecca after being convicted of shooting dead a fellow national, Uqab Bin-Uwayd Bin-Zayid al-Karshami al-Utaybi, during a dispute over money
- FEBRUARY 6, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
The Saudi opposition Movement for Islamic Reform in...
The Saudi opposition Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia (MIRA) said the British, Canadian and Belgian nationals being held in a Saudi jail will not face the death penalty
- FEBRUARY 5, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A British man, Alexander Mitchell, and a Canadian,...
A British man, Alexander Mitchell, and a Canadian, William Sampson, confessed on Saudi television to the November 17, 2000 bombing that killed Christopher Rodway and injured his wife in the Saudi capital Riyadh
- FEBRUARY 1, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed in Al-Qatif Governorate two Indian...
Saudi Arabia executed in Al-Qatif Governorate two Indian men for stabbing to death a co-worker
- JANUARY 30, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed in Mecca three [unidentified]...
Saudi Arabia executed in Mecca three [unidentified] nationals for stabbing and raping a Saudi woman before robbing her
- JANUARY 26, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
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- JANUARY 25, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A Saudi man convicted of murdering a fellow citizen...
A Saudi man convicted of murdering a fellow citizen was beheaded in southern Saudi Arabia
- JANUARY 21, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Wazir bin Zarif Shinwari, an Afghan man, was beheaded...
Wazir bin Zarif Shinwari, an Afghan man, was beheaded in the western city of Jiddah in Saudi Arabia
- JANUARY 15, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed two women, a mother and daughter,...
Saudi Arabia executed two women, a mother and daughter, convicted of killing their husband and father and burning his body in the desert
- JANUARY 14, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed a Saudi man for shooting dead...
Saudi Arabia executed a Saudi man for shooting dead a fellow national
- JANUARY 13, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Abdel-Rahim Shah Qulshawal, a Pakistani national was...
Abdel-Rahim Shah Qulshawal, a Pakistani national was beheaded for heroin smuggling in the town of Al-Khobar
- JANUARY 9, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed a Sri Lankan man for the murder...
Saudi Arabia executed a Sri Lankan man for the murder of a fellow Sri Lankan while he was sleeping
- JANUARY 8, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia executed an Indian man, Chandra Baboragoon,...
Saudi Arabia executed an Indian man, Chandra Baboragoon, and a Pakistani for smuggling heroin
- JANUARY 1, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia beheaded two men for murder, the Interior...
Saudi Arabia beheaded two men for murder, the Interior Ministry said
- JANUARY 1, 2001Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic...
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that prescribes the death sentence for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery
- NOVEMBER 23, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Sayf al-Rahman Habib Khan Abd-al-Jabbar, a Pakistani...
Sayf al-Rahman Habib Khan Abd-al-Jabbar, a Pakistani national, was executed for smuggling heroin
- NOVEMBER 19, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
An Indian national was executed in Dammam in the Eastern...
An Indian national was executed in Dammam in the Eastern Region
- NOVEMBER 16, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A man was executed for shooting to death a compatriot...
A man was executed for shooting to death a compatriot in a dispute
- NOVEMBER 16, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Four Philippine citizens were executed in Mecca
Four Philippine citizens were executed in Mecca
- NOVEMBER 4, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A man was executed in Dammam after being convicted...
A man was executed in Dammam after being convicted of shooting and killing a compatriot during a dispute
- NOVEMBER 3, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
The Islamic Shari'ah Court convicted and sentenced...
The Islamic Shari'ah Court convicted and sentenced to death Ahmad Bin-Mitrik Bin-Abdallah al-Utaybi for killing a compatriot, Humud Bin-Muhammad Bin-Dayfallah al-Utaybi
- NOVEMBER 2, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
A Pakistani man was executed in Riyadh after he was...
A Pakistani man was executed in Riyadh after he was found guilty of smuggling heroin into the country
- NOVEMBER 1, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Musallat Bin-Abdallah Bin-Musallat al-Mash'abi al-Subay'i...
Musallat Bin-Abdallah Bin-Musallat al-Mash'abi al-Subay'i was executed in Bishah in the Asir after he had been found guilty of murdering another Saudi national, Sa'd Bin-Shari Bin-Mutrik al-Shahrani
- OCTOBER 29, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Abdallah Bin-Sa'id Bin-Abdallah al-Mu'ashi was executed...
Abdallah Bin-Sa'id Bin-Abdallah al-Mu'ashi was executed in Riyadh for murdering compatriot Badr Bin-Ghazi al-Ghamidi
- OCTOBER 27, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Turayhib Bin-Dunayb Bin-Nasir al-Sahli was executed...
Turayhib Bin-Dunayb Bin-Nasir al-Sahli was executed in Hafr al-Batin in the Eastern Province after being convicted of murdering Saudi national Khalaf Bin-Mu'authiq Bin-Jad'an al-Anzi
- OCTOBER 26, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Sila Ban Rajamuni, an Indian national, was executed...
Sila Ban Rajamuni, an Indian national, was executed in the eastern governorate of Al-Qatif
- OCTOBER 24, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Khulayf Bin-Tarish Bin-Milfi al-Ja'fari al-Inizi was...
Khulayf Bin-Tarish Bin-Milfi al-Ja'fari al-Inizi was sentenced to death and executed in the northwestern city of Ha'il for shooting and killing Ayyad Bin-Sumaylil Bin-Mu'awwad al-Ja'fari al-Inizi
- OCTOBER 17, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Iraq's Interior Minister Mohammed Zimam Abdul Razzaq...
Iraq's Interior Minister Mohammed Zimam Abdul Razzaq said that Iraq would not hand over to Saudi Arabia two Saudi men who hijacked a Saudi jetliner to Baghdad
- OCTOBER 7, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Mur'i Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ahmad al-Subhi was convicted...
Mur'i Bin-Muhammad Bin-Ahmad al-Subhi was convicted of murdering Muhammad Bin-Ahmad Bin-Isa Asiri, and executed in Maha'il Governorate, Asir region
- OCTOBER 2, 2000Saudi ArabiaDEATH PENALTY
Ahmad Bin-Muhammad Bin-Abd-al-Muhsin Al Qasim was executed...
Ahmad Bin-Muhammad Bin-Abd-al-Muhsin Al Qasim was executed in Al-Qatif after he was convicted of murdering Sabri Bin-Ahmad Bin-Muhammad Al Abd-al-Aziz