The future outlook for capital punishment in Saudi Arabia

Despite de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman’s 2022 claim that the death penalty had been abolished in Saudi Arabia save in murder cases as part of his vision for a new open kingdom, the country hanged 330 people this year, the most in decades. Under the crown prince’s (abbreviated MBS) Vision 2030 plan, the nation is investing billions to change its image as a place of severe religious restrictions and human rights violations into one of a destination for tourism and entertainment.

Increase in executions in Saudi Arabia

The most recent death toll, which was verified by Reuters and collated from execution announcements by the human rights NGO Reprieve, represents a significant increase over the 172 total from last year and the 196 total for 2022. It was the highest ever recorded, according to Reprieve.

“This reform is built on a house of cards that is built on record numbers of executions,”

Reprieve employee Jeed Basyouni stated. Saudi Arabia claims that its measures are taken to safeguard national security and refutes claims of violations of human rights. The primary reason for those executions was suspected drug smuggling during the surge of an amphetamine-like captagon from Syria under former President Bashar al-Assad. They also included those accused of non-lethal terrorism, a charge that rights organizations claim is frequently applied to people who have taken part in anti-government demonstrations. Over 100 foreign nationals from the Middle East, Africa, and Asia are included in the total. Specific inquiries were made on the execution numbers, but the Saudi government communications office did not answer. According to the count, more than 150 people were put to death this year for non-lethal offenses, which rights organizations claim violate international law.

Factors behind the surge in 2024

MBS came under worldwide criticism for suppressing dissent and for the 2018 murder of Saudi writer Jamal Khashoggi in the kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul after seizing power in a palace coup in 2017. Although MBS has stated that he is ultimately responsible for Khashoggi’s death because it occurred under his supervision, Saudi Arabia has insisted that the murder was committed by a rogue gang. After Khashoggi’s death, the country was mostly avoided by Western nations. After declaring he would turn Saudi Arabia into a “pariah” during his 2020 campaign, U.S. President Joe Biden visited the country in 2022 and gave MbS a fist bump. Rights organizations have charged that the nation uses torture to coerce confessions and executes youngsters. For many years, Saudi Arabia conducted weekly executions by sword beheading in a public square; today, there is hardly any trace of the brutal past in that same area, which is now dominated by cafes and restaurants.

Impact on Saudi Arabia’s global image

Dana Ahmed stated, “You don’t see it, but repression is growing.” Families of death row inmates told Reuters they had trouble navigating the Saudi judicial system, although they did not want to reveal their identities for security reasons. One foreign national who was arrested on drug accusations claimed that he had no legal representation in Saudi Arabia and had only been fishing close to the coast. Despite attending criminal court sessions for almost three years, a family member of another defendant said they had not heard any evidence against him. The accounts could not be independently verified. Despite de facto ruler Mohammed bin Salman’s 2022 claim that the death penalty had been abolished in Saudi Arabia save in murder cases as part of his vision for a new open kingdom, the country hanged 330 people this year—the most in decades. Under the crown prince’s Vision 2030 plan, the nation is investing billions to change its image from a place of severe religious restrictions and human rights violations into one of a destination for tourists and entertainment.

Domestic policies and legal reforms

Following what Amnesty International called a “grossly unfair trial” on terrorism-related allegations, Bahraini residents Jaafar Sultan and Sadiq Thamer were put to death by authorities on May 29. Based on known, long-standing abuses of due process and the right to a fair trial in the nation’s criminal justice system, HRW said it was doubtful Sultan and Thamer were given a fair trial before being put to death. Morris Tidball-Binz, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions, repeatedly called for a retrial under international law, but their executions went on. The research also discovered that, despite the government’s declared intention to stop the practice, the nation continued to routinely execute and sentence juvenile offenders to death. The report claimed that a declared moratorium on executions for drug offenses was nullified by the country’s restart of executions for drug charges in November 2022 and that the country disproportionately executed foreign people, including a large number of women domestic workers and low-level drug offenders. Reprieve claimed that the death sentence was frequently applied to nonlethal crimes and to quell demonstrators and dissidents.