The Washington Center for Human Rights (WCHR) denounces the shocking and increasing trend of executions in Saudi Arabia on drug-related charges, which has endangered dozens of detainees – a majority of whom are foreign nationals – with imminent execution. The Saudi government has, in shocking reports submitted by Amnesty International, executed at least 88 individuals between January and April 2025, 52 of whom were given death sentences for drug crimes. This is a sudden and deliberate rise compared to the same period last year in 2024 when no executions for drug crimes were reported.
On April 22 alone, three people – one Pakistani national and two Saudi nationals – were executed for suspected drug offences like “marketing hashish” and “smuggling heroin.”
Saudi Arabia’s mass execution campaign flagrantly contravenes international human rights law, which clearly limits the application of the death penalty to the ‘most serious crimes’ – intentional killing. Drug trafficking is not such a crime, and the ongoing execution spree is a gross abuse of state power and justice.
Several reports detail grossly unjust trials, especially of foreign nationals from nations like Egypt, Somalia, Sudan, and Pakistan. WCHR is gravely concerned with the practice of torture, forced confessions, denial of legal representation, and deliberate hindrance of appeals in such cases:
- At least five Egyptian citizens were convicted and sentenced without the right to lawyers during an investigation or trial.
- In Issam Shazly’s case, a lawyer appointed by the court did not notify the family of key deadlines for appeal or clemency, leaving him at imminent risk of execution.
- Rami al-Najjar, who was convicted in 2019, was informed by a judge that his appeal was inadmissible because he lacked legal representation. His recently appointed attorney has done nothing substantial since the early part of 2025, even though Rami faces an imminent execution.
- Somali citizens are also subjected to mass death row imprisonment – with 44 men at present being detained in Najran Prison for drug-related crimes. A Somali national, Mohamed Nur Hussein, was put to death in February, fueling concerns for the others.
From April 6 through April 24, Saudi Arabia conducted 22 executions, of which 17 were foreign nationals from a variety of different regions: Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. Such mass targeting of vulnerable prisoners, many with fewer resources and no means of advocacy, evidences a hardhearted policy of punitive deterrence at human rights expense.
WCHR is particularly concerned with credible reports of mass prisoner transfers – like the transfer of 35 Egyptian detainees in Tabuk – which have caused families to fear an indication of intended mass executions.
- The Washington Center for Human Rights urges the Saudi government to:
- Immediately suspend all ongoing executions, particularly for non-capital offenses.
- Implement a formal moratorium on the death penalty, in accordance with international human rights standards.
- Reform national legislation to eliminate death penalties for narcotics-related crimes.
- Guarantee all detainees are entitled to fair trials, counsel, and immunity from torture or coercion.
WCHR also urges the United Nations, U.S. State Department, European Union, and regional allies to:
- Publicly condemn the abuses of the Saudi government;
- Push for international mechanisms of accountability;
- And provide legal and diplomatic assistance to detainees at risk.