
Saudi Arabia executing foreigners on drugs charges at 'horrifying' rate, says Amnesty
The kingdom executed 1,816 people between January 2014 and June 2025, according to the official Saudi Press Agency.
Of those, nearly one third (597) were for drug-related offences, which may not be punishable by death under international human rights law and norms.
Around three quarters of those executed for drug offences were foreign nationals.
'We are witnessing a truly horrifying trend, with foreign nationals being put to death at a startling rate for crimes that should never carry the death penalty,' Amnesty's Kristine Beckerle said.
New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch
Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters
Executions in Saudi Arabia have risen steadily over the past year and a half. In 2024, the kingdom executed 345 people - the highest annual figure that Amnesty has recorded in over three decades.
So far this year, 180 people have been executed. Last month alone, 46 executions were carried out, 37 of which were for drug-related offences.
They were made up of nationals from Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan, Somalia and Syria.
In January 2021, Riyadh had announced a moratorium on drug related-executions, but that was lifted in November the following year.
'Cruel, inhuman and degrading'
Last month, inmates and their relatives told Middle East Eye that executions could take place 'any day'. The men were all from Ethiopia and Somalia and had been convicted of drug trafficking.
'They have told us to say our goodbyes,' one of the convicted men told MEE.
'We were told that executions would begin shortly after Eid al-Adha (5-9 June), and now they have started.'
'Saudi Arabia's allies in the international community must exert urgent pressure on the authorities to halt their execution spree'
- Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International
In its report, Amnesty interviewed the families of 13 inmates on death row, as well as community members and consulate officials. It also reviewed court documents.
Based on the testimonies and evidence, it concluded that limited levels of education and disadvantaged socio-economic status of foreign nationals increased their risk of exploitation and lack of legal representation.
The family of 27-year-old Khalid Mohammed Ibrahim, who was put on death row on alleged drug trafficking charges, told MEE it had been a harrowing seven years for the family since he was arrested.
'He tried to enter the country through Yemen,' his older brother Muleta said. 'A border guard encouraged him to tell his jailers that he was a drug smuggler, saying it would get him sent to court and quickly cleared since there was no evidence. He believed them.'
In addition to drug offences, Amnesty reported on the use of the death penalty against Saudi Arabia's Shia minority on 'terrorism' related charges.
The rights group said that despite Shia communities making up around 12 percent of the Saudi population, they accounted for around 42 percent (120 of 286) of terrorism-related executions since 2014.
Saudi Arabia plans to execute Shia youths on charges UN deems 'arbitrary' Read More »
The report added that seven young men currently at risk of execution were under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged offences.
Imposing the death penalty on those who were minors at the time of the alleged crime is prohibited under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - a treaty which Saudi Arabia is a state party to.
'The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, it should not be used under any circumstances,' said Beckerle.
'In addition to immediately establishing a moratorium on executions, pending full abolition of the death penalty, Saudi Arabia's authorities must amend national laws to remove the death penalty and commute all death sentences.
'Saudi Arabia's allies in the international community must exert urgent pressure on the authorities to halt their execution spree and uphold international human rights obligations.'
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The National
30 minutes ago
- The National
Hamas agrees to a 60-day truce in partial response to latest Gaza proposals
Hamas has given mediators a partial and initial response to proposals for a Gaza ceasefire and hostage deal but was expected to shortly hand them a final reply, sources told The National on Wednesday. They said Hamas has unconditionally agreed to a 60-day truce during which sufficient humanitarian assistance will enter Gaza, chiefly through the Rafah crossing with Egypt in the south of the war-battered enclave. Hamas has also agreed in principle to most of the maps Israel presented for the redeployment of its troops in Gaza, but wants them to pull out from Deir Al Balah in central Gaza – the theatre of a major continuing military operation by Israel – as well as Khan Younis in the south, the sources said. 'Hamas is reviewing the maps with other resistance factions in Gaza,' said one of the sources. 'We expect Hamas's final and full response within hours, but that can change.' The sources spoke as President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff was expected to arrive in Europe on Thursday and Qatar on Friday, a sign that in the past has been interpreted to mean a deal was within reach. However, optimism that mediators from Qatar, Egypt and the US were on the cusp of getting Israel and Hamas to agree to a deal has previously proved premature because of the intransigence of both Israel and Hamas. Israel's President Isaac Herzog struck an upbeat note on Wednesday during a visit to Gaza, telling soldiers there were 'intensive negotiations' about returning the hostages held there. He said he hoped the soldiers will soon 'hear good news', according to a statement from the President's spokesperson. Hamas, however, is yet to provide a final list of the names of the hundreds of Palestinians it wants released from Israeli prisons as part of the deal, they said. The list is likely to include high-profile Palestinians serving long jail terms whom Hamas wants freed but Israel insists on keeping them incarcerated, they said. They include Marwan Barghouti, a senior leader of the mainstream Fatah faction who is widely tipped to be a possible successor to President Mahmoud Abbas. Hamas was also expected to provide mediators with its final timeline for the release of 10 Israeli hostages and the remains of 18 others who died in captivity, according to the sources. Hamas has previously proposed the release of the hostages in batches throughout the 60-day truce to ensure Israel's compliance with the terms of the agreement, but it appears that Israel has rejected that timeline and suggested an alternative, which Hamas is reviewing. Hamas is believed to be holding around 50 hostages, of whom 20 are thought by the Israeli military to be alive. Beside the truce and flow of relief aid into Gaza, where starvation is claiming more and more lives, the key provisions of the latest proposals include discussions on a long-term ceasefire and a full Israeli withdrawal. Hamas had wanted US guarantees that these talks would continue until an agreement is reached, but the sources said Hamas appears to have dropped that condition. Israel, moreover, insists the war in Gaza will not end until Hamas's military and governing capabilities have been fully dismantled and all the hostages released. It's also demanding that Hamas lays down its arms and its leaders leave the territory to live in exile with their families. Hamas has rejected Israel's demand that it surrenders its arms. Instead it suggested it was open to discussions on laying down its arms and storing them under international supervision when a long-term ceasefire is in place. It has agreed to the departure into exile of its leaders provided that they and their families are not targeted by Israel. The Gaza war was triggered when Hamas and its allies attacked southern Israeli communities, killing 1,200 and taking another 250 hostage. Israel's response has been a devastating military campaign that has killed nearly 60,000 Palestinians and injured more than twice that many, according to Gaza's health ministry. Nearly all the coastal enclave's 2.3 million residents have been displaced, more than once in many cases, and large swathes of built-up areas reduced to rubble.


Middle East Eye
an hour ago
- Middle East Eye
Islamic State may be responsible for atrocities against Druze, not Syrian forces, Barrack says
US envoy Tom Barrack suggested that Syrian government forces were not responsible for atrocities committed against Druze in southern Syria, and that the armed fighters who carried out the attacks may have been Islamic State militants disguised in government uniforms. Barrack, who is President Donald Trump's envoy to Syria as well as ambassador to Turkey, made the comments in an interview with Reuters in Beirut on Tuesday. Syria's southern province of Sweida was the site of sectarian violence between the majority Druze community and Sunni Bedouins. The conflict was internationalised after Israel intervened, bombing Syrian government forces. Israel cast the bombings as an effort to protect Druze. Israel is home to around 150,000 Druze. Around 1,000 people were killed in the clashes in southern Syria. Barrack also cast doubt on video footage that circulated widely on social media alleged to be of Syrian government forces committing atrocities, saying it could have been easily altered. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters "The Syrian troops haven't gone into the city. These atrocities that are happening are not happening by the Syrian regime troops. They're not even in the city because they agreed with Israel that they would not go in," he told Reuters. Israel's intervention in the fighting "upset" the Trump administration and Saudi Arabia, as Middle East Eye was the first to report. On Monday, the White House said Trump was "caught off guard" by Israel's bombing. Barrack is spearheading the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. He has been a vocal supporter of efforts by Gulf states to invest in the war-torn country. He has generally walked a tightrope between concerns for minorities in Syria and calls for the central government in Damascus to assert its authority. Barrack is trying to push the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to integrate into the Syrian army as the US looks to continue reducing its military presence in northeast Syria. Barrack has been well received in Turkey. US support for the SDF has been a long-running sore point in the Nato allies ties. Barrack's messaging on Sharaa In a press conference in Beirut on Monday Barrack was asked about Israeli intervention, which he said 'came at a very bad time' and created 'another very confusing chapter' for Syria. Current and former Arab, Israeli and US officials told MEE that Israel's strikes and efforts to position itself as a defender of the Druze suggested it was bent on carving out a zone of influence in Syria that conflicts directly with the vision of a unitary post-war Syria put forward by Barrack. Barrack has repeatedly stressed that the US was not dictating Syria's form of government. He has cast his diplomacy as a test case for Trump's pledge in May to stop western 'nation builders' and 'interventionists' from working in the Middle East and instead empower locals allies such as the Gulf states and Turkey. Saudi Arabia told US that Syrian forces should deploy to Sweida despite Israeli objections, source says Read More » But Barrack said Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa should assess the fallout of the Sweida conflict, saying Sharaa should reflect: "I'm going to adapt quickly, because if I don't adapt quickly, I'm going to lose the energy of the universe that was behind me." Barrack added that Sharaa's 'theme … isn't working so well', and told Reuters he advised Sharaa to reduce the influence of Islamists in the military and cooperate on security with regional states. Sharaa was the leader of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, a former US-designated terrorist organisation that toppled Bashar al-Assad last December. Before that he ran al-Qaeda's Syrian branch. Syria has been seen bouts of sectarian violence since Sharaa came to power. In March, Syrian security forces killed hundreds of Alawites - the sect to which Assad belonged - along the Mediterranean coast. In June, at least 25 people were killed in a bombing at Mar Elias Greek Orthodox Church. Sharaa was criticised for his handling of the fallout. He has promised to protect minorities. Barrack said that Sharaa had to address those concerns. "If they end up with a federalist government, that's their determination. And the answer to the question is: everybody may now need to adapt."


Middle East Eye
2 hours ago
- Middle East Eye
Columbia University suspends or expels almost 80 students for pro-Palestine protest
Columbia University announced new sanctions against student activists on Tuesday, suspending or expelling dozens of students for their participation in pro-Palestine protests. The suspensions will last between one and three years and will require students to write an apology letter if they wish to return to the university. The disciplinary proceedings primarily targeted students involved in the takeover of Butler Library to host a teach-in honouring the Palestinian writer Basel al-Araj, who was killed by Israeli forces in 2017. Protesters renamed the library 'the Basel al-Araj Popular University'. 'The sanctions issued on July 21 by the University Judicial Board were determined by a UJB panel of professors and administrators who worked diligently over the summer to offer an outcome for each individual based on the findings of their case and prior disciplinary outcomes,' Columbia wrote in a statement. Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) said in a statement: 'Once Barnard joins Columbia in announcing charges, these will be the most suspensions for a single political protest in Columbia campus history and hugely exceed sentencing precedent for teach-ins or non-Palestine-related building occupations.' Barnard is a Columbia University affiliate. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters CUAD alleged that Columbia president Claire Shipman modified disciplinary proceedings to crack down on student protesters. '[Shipman] illegally restructured the University Judicial Board (UJB) and removed student members and faculty oversight to pursue exceptionally harsh sanctions against its own students,' CUAD said in a statement. Pro-Palestine protests at Columbia and other universities have come to the forefront since the beginning of Israel's war on Gaza, which several countries, as well as many international rights groups and experts, now say qualify as an act of genocide. More than 100 Palestinians in Gaza, including at least 80 children, have starved to death as a result of Israel's siege, and more than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed at aid distribution sites since March. Police on campus Students have condemned Columbia's collaboration with the New York Police Department (NYPD) and Trump administration officials. During the takeover of Butler Library, Columbia invited NYPD officials on to campus, who ultimately arrested 78 demonstrators. Columbia claimed the NYPD's presence was necessary to 'assist in securing the building and the safety of our community'. Georgetown University professor placed on leave over misrepresented X post Read More » But four students were hospitalised with concussions due to NYPD brutality during the protest, according to CUAD. One of the arrested students reported being 'choked and going in and out of consciousness after the arrest. One of [the police officers] kept trying to gouge my eyes. They slammed my head into the floor multiple times.' CUAD alleged that the disciplinary sanctions were a result of talks between Columbia and the Trump administration to restore $400 million in cancelled federal funding. They listed Columbia's adoption of a definition of antisemitism that considers Zionism a protected class and a new partnership with the pro-Israel Anti-Defamation League as similar concessions. Columbia's press office did not respond to a request for clarification. Student activists say they will continue to organise undeterred by disciplinary proceedings. According to one student quoted on CUAD's Substack, 'if this hearing was meant to isolate or shame, it has done the opposite. It has made us more clear: no sanction handed down here can expel principle. Basel al-Araj wrote: 'Join them, and don't betray the question.' We have joined, and we will not betray the question."