One Execution Every Three Days... Bin Salman's Country That Has Executed 100 Foreigners

Saudi Arabia Executes Over 100 Foreigners This Year
Total Executions Expected to Surpass 300 Annually

Saudi Arabia has executed more than 100 foreigners over the past year.

On the 17th (local time), the British media outlet Daily Mail reported, citing Saudi Arabia's official news agency, that a total of 101 foreigners were executed in Saudi Arabia this year as of the 16th. The 101st executed prisoner was a foreigner of Yemeni nationality, who was reportedly sentenced to death recently on charges of drug smuggling.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, known as the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. In a 2022 interview, he expressed his intention to limit the implementation of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. Photo by AP Yonhap News

Among the 101 foreigners executed in Saudi Arabia this year, the highest proportion were from Pakistan, totaling 21 individuals. This was followed by 20 from Yemen, 14 from Syria, 10 from Nigeria, 9 from Egypt, 8 from Jordan, and 7 from Ethiopia. This is the first time the number of foreigners executed in Saudi Arabia in one year has exceeded 100, representing nearly a threefold increase compared to the average of the past two years.

Regarding this, a representative from the European and Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) told the media, "It is unprecedented for Saudi Arabia to execute more than 100 foreigners in one year," adding, "This is the highest number of foreign executions carried out in a single year."

Including executions of nationals, Saudi Arabia has carried out a total of 274 executions this year, surpassing the previous record of 196 executions. Saudi Arabia had already ranked as the third highest country in the world for executions as of last year.

The surge in executions in Saudi Arabia is largely attributed to drug offenders. Saudi Arabia lifted a three-year moratorium on executions for drug-related crimes in 2022.

At that time, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed in an interview with a media outlet his intention to abolish the death penalty except in cases of "murder or when many lives are threatened," but critics point out that the actual actions have been quite the opposite. The Middle East death penalty abolition group Reprieve has predicted that the total number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year will exceed 300.