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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Crime & Justice

Saudi Arabia executes 100 people in 2026, majority for drug offenses

From The Punch · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency New plan
  • Saudi Arabia executed 100 people in 2026, with 65 of those executions related to drug trafficking charges.
  • The majority of those executed for drug offenses were foreigners, raising concerns from Amnesty International about unfair trials and the disproportionate impact on foreign nationals.
  • The kingdom reinstated the death penalty for drug offenses in late 2022 and ranks among the top countries globally for executions, despite efforts to project a modern image.

Saudi Arabia has executed 100 people in 2026, reaching a grim milestone according to an AFP tally. Of these, 65 executions were for drug trafficking offenses. The report highlights that a significant number of those executed for drug-related crimes were foreigners, with 43 individuals falling into this category.

Amnesty International has strongly condemned the kingdom's use of the death penalty, particularly for drug offenses. The human rights group described the executions as "unconscionable and unlawful." Amnesty specifically raised alarm about Ethiopian nationals, noting that at least 63 individuals from Ethiopia may be at imminent risk of execution solely for drug-related offenses, often after "grossly unfair trials."

Foreign nationals have borne the brunt of Saudi Arabia’s ruthless use of the death penalty for drug-related offences, frequently after grossly unfair trials.

— Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International condemned the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

The executions this year include 48 Saudis, 12 Ethiopians, seven Pakistanis, six Sudanese, four Yemenis, and four Syrians. This marks a stark contrast to 2025, when the kingdom executed 356 people, with 243 of those cases involving drug offenses, a record high since Amnesty began tracking in 1990. Saudi Arabia reinstated the death penalty for drug offenses in late 2022, reversing a three-year suspension.

Globally, Saudi Arabia ranks third in the number of executions over the past three years, following China and Iran. The country faces persistent criticism from rights groups, who view its extensive use of capital punishment as excessive and contradictory to its efforts to present a modern international image. Saudi authorities, however, maintain that the death penalty is essential for public order and is applied only after all appeals are exhausted.

It is profoundly alarming that at least 63 Ethiopian nationals, held in a single ward of Khamis Mushait detention facility in south-west Saudi Arabia, may be at imminent risk of execution solely for drug-related offences.

— Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International expressed concern about the potential execution of Ethiopian nationals.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Punch in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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