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At least 50 African people at risk of imminent execution in Saudi Arabia
Dozens of people from the Horn of Africa on death row in Saudi Arabia have been told that their executions could take place 'any day', inmates and their relatives told Middle East Eye.
The men are all from Ethiopia and Somalia and have been convicted of drug trafficking, which carries a death sentence in Saudi Arabia.
Held at the Najiran prison near the border with Yemen, inmates say they were notified several weeks ago that their sentences, typically beheadings, would be carried out soon.
'They have told us to say our goodbyes,' one of the convicted men, who preferred not to be named, told MEE.
'We were told that executions would begin shortly after Eid al-Adha, and now they have started.'
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A list of names of the convicted obtained by MEE includes 43 Ethiopians, and 13 Somalis.
According to inmates, at least six were put to death over the past month.
Rise in executions
Amnesty International has documented at least 52 executions for drug-related offenses in the kingdom from January to April.
Keen to soften the country's conservative image as part of its Vision 2030 economic reform programme and ahead of hosting of the 2034 Fifa World Cup, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has enacted a whirlwind of reforms liberalising some elements of Saudi society.
He has also repeatedly pledged to amend the country's harsh justice system, which lists adultery, apostasy and 'sorcery' as capital offences. Saudi Arabia is among the world's leading executioners.
'All of the Ethiopians and Somali executions we documented this year were linked to hashish possession or smuggling'
- Duaa Dhainy, European Saudi Organization for Human Rights
However, an unofficial moratorium on capital punishment for drug-related offences enacted in 2021 has been lifted.
Executions have subsequently accelerated. Over 300 people were put to death last year, a record tally for the kingdom. This year, 100 executions were documented by May alone.
One possible reason for the spike, according to experts, is that additional drugs appear to have been added to the list of those meriting capital punishment.
'We've monitored death-sentence cases of numerous foreign nationals for years, and drug offences are usually linked to substances like amphetamines or cocaine,' Duaa Dhainy, a researcher with the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, told MEE.
'However, we've noticed that from 2024 onwards, many foreigners have been executed for possession of hashish, so they've expanded the offences that can lead to execution. All of the Ethiopians and Somali executions we documented this year were linked to hashish possession or smuggling.'
For the family of 27-year-old Khalid Mohammed Ibrahim, the news the executions for drug offences were resuming has plunged them into heartache.
Ibrahim's older brother insists his sibling is innocent and said it has been a harrowing seven years for the family since he was arrested.
'He tried to enter the country through Yemen,' Muleta told MEE. '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.'
Fleeing persecution
Muleta said Ibrahim was effectively forced out of his own country.
Hailing from the town of Chelenqo in Ethiopia's Oromia region, he was among the students who took part in the Oromo protests of 2016, which eventually culminated in the resignation of Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn two years later.
Both brothers were among thousands of youths jailed for taking part in the anti-government uprising, Muleta recalled.
'We were told that executions would begin shortly after Eid al-Adha, and now they have started'
- prisoner at Najiran jail, Saudi Arabia
Expelled from school and unable to apply for university, Ibrahim tried to move on with life, getting married and working as a labourer for a few years. But then his wife became pregnant.
'He wanted to afford a better life for his son, but [the government] closed all opportunities for him,' said Muleta. 'That is why he left Ethiopia.'
Ibrahim never lived as a free man in Saudi Arabia, as he was detained immediately upon arrival in 2018.
After 11 court appearances, he was sentenced to death in October 2019. He has never had the opportunity to meet his son, who is now eight years old.
Dhainy said cases like Ibrahim's typically proceed through the courts to the royal court, Saudi Arabia's highest, where death sentences are signed by the king.
'However, sometimes the documents show that the accused never had a lawyer,' Dhainy said.
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'Also, there is no guarantee that the detainee understood the charges, had a translator or was aware of the content of documents, including confessions, that they are sometimes made to sign.'
Muleta said his brother told him that torture and beatings are commonplace at Najiran prison. Emotionally drained, the family's torment has been worse in recent weeks.
'It has been hell for my parents,' Muleta adds. 'They are going crazy. We have tried everything, we tried begging officials for help, but no one has done anything.'
Several inmates on death row at Najiran also told MEE that their families have spent years pleading for assistance from their government, including Ethiopian diplomats based in Saudi Arabia.
The Ethiopian Embassy in Saudi Arabia, which has a documented history of covering up the suffering of Ethiopians caught up in the Saudi judicial system, has been criticised for its inaction on the matter.
Middle East Eye has asked Ambassador Muktar Kedir Abdu and the Ethiopian foreign ministry for comment, without response.
Somali pressure
In Somalia, intense media coverage and campaigning by families of death row inmates has led to the Somali government openly appealing to Saudi authorities for leniency, and greater public awareness of the danger.
Hiiraan Online, a Somali news site, has covered the plight of Somalis sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia extensively.
'Our reporting has helped bring national and international attention to the plight of nearly 50 Somalis facing execution in Saudi Arabia - many of them coerced into smuggling under false pretences,' Dalmar Gure, editor-in-chief of Hiiraan Online, told MEE.
'Together with pressure from families, Somali media coverage helped spur diplomatic engagement, including talks on prisoner transfers and appeals for clemency.'
The Najiran prison contingent isn't the only large group of Africans on death row in Saudi Arabia.
Earlier this month, UN officials raised concerns about the imminent executions of 26 Egyptians held at Tabouk prison in the north on similar drug offences. They condemned the sentences as a 'violation of international law'.
Last week, over 30 rights groups, mostly based in the Middle East and Africa, published an open letter calling on the crown prince to commute the death sentences of over a hundred Ethiopians, Egyptians and Somalis.
