Human rights reports reveal that Saudi Arabia has executed more than 100 foreigners since the beginning of 2024, setting a new record that has drawn widespread criticism from human rights organizations.
On Saturday, November 17, 2024, the Saudi Press Agency announced the execution of Moussa Mohammed Abdullah Saleh, a Yemeni convicted of drug smuggling. The sentence was carried out in the southern region of Najran, bringing the total number of foreigners executed this year to 101.
Taha Al-Hajji, Legal Director of the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) based in Berlin, described the figure as “the highest annual number of foreign executions in the kingdom’s history”. In comparison, Saudi Arabia executed 34 foreigners in both 2022 and 2023.
The Saudi regime has faced sharp criticism for its extensive use of death penalty, especially as it seeks to improve its international image through social and economic reforms under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s “Vision 2030”.
Saudi Arabia ranked third globally in executions in 2022 and 2023, following China and Iran, according to Amnesty International. By September 2024, the kingdom had carried out 198 executions—the highest figure in 30 years. This number later rose to 274 by November, with projections suggesting it could surpass 300 by year’s end.
These numbers contrast with statements by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in 2022, who claimed the kingdom aimed to limit the death penalty to cases involving murder or threats to human life.
Of the foreigners executed this year, the breakdown includes: 21 Pakistanis, 20 Yemenis, 14 Syrians, 10 Nigerians, 9 Egyptians, 8 Jordanians, 7 Ethiopians, as well as Sudanese, Indian, Afghan, Eritrean, and Filipino nationals. Drug smuggling was the primary charge for 69 of those executed.
Human rights organizations argue that foreign defendants in Saudi Arabia often face abuses from arrest to execution, including unfair trials and exploitation by major drug trafficking networks.
