Saudi Arabia has executed two Ethiopian nationals convicted in a drug case, marking a new record for the execution of foreign nationals this year. With this, the Gulf kingdom has now executed over a hundred foreigners in 2025 alone. The rising number of capital punishments has drawn strong condemnation from several international human rights organizations.
According to a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior, the two Ethiopian nationals convicted in a drug smuggling case were executed on Thursday.As per statistics from the French news agency AFP, the latest executions bring the total number of foreigners executed in Saudi Arabia this year to at least 101.
The state-run Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that Khalil Qasim Muhammad Omar and Murad Yaqub Adam Siyo, both Ethiopian nationals, were found guilty of smuggling hashish. After the charges were proven in court, they were sentenced to death.In total, 189 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year, including 88 Saudi citizens. Until November 2024, the number of foreigners executed annually had not crossed the triple-digit mark.
Saudi Arabia remains one of the top countries globally in terms of the number of executions.According to AFP, at least 338 executions took place in Saudi Arabia in 2024, compared to 170 in 2023 and 196 in 2022.Earlier this week, human rights organization Amnesty International described the increasing execution rate in Saudi Arabia as a result of a “deeply inhumane and unfair judicial process.”
Christine Beckerle, Deputy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty, said:> “We are witnessing a horrifying trend where foreigners are being executed for crimes that should never carry the death penalty.”After a nearly three-year suspension, Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug-related offenses at the end of 2022.
Amnesty notes that a lack of transparency in the judicial process and the absence of citizenship make foreign nationals particularly vulnerable to being denied justice.
London-based human rights group Reprieve also strongly condemned the rise in executions. According to Reprieve, more than half of those executed in Saudi Arabia in 2025 have been foreigners, most of whom were convicted in drug-related cases.Zaid Basiyuni, head of Reprieve’s Middle East death penalty project, stated:> “In Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Saudi Arabia, you can attend a desert rave party, but also get the death penalty for smoking hashish.”He added:> “Under the Crown Prince’s leadership, Saudi Arabia is trying to present itself as a liberal and inclusive country, while at the same time carrying out executions for drug offenses on a daily basis. It’s a repressive reality.”
