Saudi authorities executed two citizens, Fahd bin Saud bin Hamad Al-Shammari and Sami bin Khalaf bin Aqil Al-Mutairi, on Wednesday after convicting them of “treason” and “supporting terrorism,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior. The ministry claimed the two men adopted a “terrorist ideology that permits bloodshed and financial crimes” and were involved in “disclosing classified information and collaborating with terrorist entities to destabilize society.”
It added that their sentences were finalized after appeals were exhausted and upheld by the Supreme Court, with the executions carried out in Riyadh. The executions come amid ongoing accusations from human rights organizations that Saudi Arabia uses its judiciary to suppress dissent. The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights condemned the executions as part of a broader pattern of using vague charges such as “terrorism” and “treason” to punish critics of the regime.
The organization noted that Saudi courts rely on discretionary rulings (Tazir), giving authorities broad power to impose severe sentences through trials that lack transparency and are based on ambiguous charges without concrete evidence. These are the fourth executions in Saudi Arabia since the start of 2025, following two similar cases in January that human rights groups described as politically motivated.
A recent report from the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights revealed that executions in the kingdom more than doubled in 2024, indicating an escalation in the use of capital punishment to intimidate dissidents and send a strong political message. Saudi Arabia continues to face international criticism over its human rights record, particularly regarding the use of the death penalty against political opponents under charges of “espionage” and “terrorism,” raising concerns about ongoing repression in the kingdom.
