We, the undersigned organizations, are gravely concerned about the imminent execution of dozens of prisoners in Saudi Arabia on non-lethal drug-related charges, including numerous Egyptian nationals held in Tabuk Prison. These individuals face the death penalty following deeply flawed judicial processes that violate internationally recognized human rights and legal standards, including Saudi Arabia’s obligations under the Arab Charter on Human Rights which obligates states to retain the application of the death penalty to the “most serious crimes.” The Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment published an Urgent Appeal to Saudi Arabia in December 2024, urging the Kingdom to ensure that the Egyptian nationals are not executed and are granted a fair trial with a view to commuting their sentences. Further, the Mandates affirmed that the right to life is a peremptory norm of international law (jus cogens) from which no derogation is permitted.
Saudi Arabia is experiencing an ongoing execution crisis, with a total of 345 individuals executed in 2024, nearly doubling its previous annual record. The disproportionate impact on foreign nationals is particularly concerning, especially in cases involving drug charges, with 75% of the 122 individuals executed for non-lethal drug offenses in 2024 being non-Saudi citizens. More flagrantly, Saudi authorities continue to impose and carry out death sentences against individuals for crimes allegedly committed as minors. This alarming surge in capital punishment has continued into 2025, with 65 executions already carried out in the first two months, including 26 for drug-related offenses. In the Mandates’ recent Urgent Appeal, they affirmed that the ongoing executions in Saudi Arabia demonstrate a systemic failure of justice and a flagrant violation of international law. We demand an immediate halt to these executions, an independent investigation into the violations of human rights in these cases, and comprehensive reform of Saudi Arabia’s judicial system to align with international human rights standards.
The prisoners live in constant terror as they witness their fellow inmates be taken for execution on a daily basis. The Saudi authorities have increasingly relied on vague and poorly defined drug-related charges to justify the continued use of the death penalty. Many of those sentenced to death were arrested under unclear circumstances, denied access to legal counsel, and subjected to trials that lacked transparency or adherence to international standards, in violation of Saudi Arabia’s obligations under the Arab Charter on Human Rights.
Confessions were frequently obtained under torture, and many of the accused were forced to sign documents they did not understand or were not allowed to contest, in contravention of Saudi Arabia’s obligations under the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The international standard is clear: the death penalty must be restricted to the ‘most serious crimes,’ defined as crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing. Non-lethal drug-related crimes do not amount to this, making these executions a clear violation of international human rights principles.
The current wave of executions undermines previous assurances by Saudi authorities to limit the use of the death penalty and reflects a troubling pattern of inconsistency and impunity. In April 2018, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced to Time magazine that Saudi Arabia was transitioning away from the death penalty for crimes that did not involve “a person killing another person”, instead opting for life imprisonment. However, this statement was contradicted by the execution of 185 people in 2019.
In March 2022, Mohammed bin Salman reiterated his intention to abolish the death penalty, except in cases of intentional homicide, during an interview with The Atlantic. This stance was reaffirmed in July 2024 when Saudi Arabia informed the UN Human Rights Council that the death penalty would only be applied to the most serious crimes, and in October 2024 by Saudi representatives at the 89th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. Despite these assurances, Saudi Arabia’s actions have not aligned with its public statements, as the country continues to execute individuals for a wide range of non-lethal offenses.
The lack of transparency allows the Saudi authorities to manipulate the judicial process and conceal the true nature of these cases, often targeting vulnerable individuals, including foreign nationals, for the harshest punishments. The reliance on such tactics reflects a systematic abuse of power and a blatant disregard for justice and human rights.
Families of the condemned are left in the dark, with little to no information about their loved ones’ cases or execution schedules. This secrecy compounds their suffering and highlights the lack of accountability within the Saudi justice system. The SR on Execution and SR on Torture stated that a lack of transparency in death penalty cases violates UN Safeguards requiring minimal suffering, which are binding under customary international law for all retentionist states.
As such, we, the undersigned organisations, call on Saudi Arabia to:
- Honor its commitments to restrict the use of the death penalty to only the “most serious crimes,” in line with international law;
- End the use of vague or unsubstantiated charges to justify capital punishment;
- Conduct an immediate review of individuals on death row to identify due process or fair trial violations under domestic or international law, and commute the sentences in such cases;
- Uphold its international legal obligations, including ensuring detained foreign nationals have access to consular protection.
Additionally, we urgently request that the international community:
- Increases diplomatic pressure on Saudi Arabia to end unjust executions, unfair trials and uphold its international human rights commitments;
- Advocates for greater transparency and accountability in Saudi Arabia’s judicial system; and
- Urges Saudi Arabia to guarantee foreign nationals their right to consular protection and support.
We also urge the governments of countries whose nationals are at risk of execution in Saudi Arabia to act swiftly and decisively. Diplomatic pressure must be applied to protect the rights and lives of those facing unjust death sentences and to demand transparency and fairness in all judicial proceedings.
Signatories:
– MENA Rights Group
– European Saudi Organization for Human Rights
– Sinai Foundation for Human Rights
– Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
– Law and Democracy Support Foundation – LDSF
– FairSquare
– Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR)
– Egyptian Human Rights Forum ( EHRF)
– Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR)
– ALQST for Human Rights
– Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS)
– EgyptWide for Human Rights
– HuMENA for Human Rights and Civic Engagement
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