This year more than 100 foreigners were hanged in Saudi Arabia. This figure is about three times more than the last three years. According to Taha al-Hajji, legal director of the European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights, ESOHR, this is the first time that Saudi Arabia has hanged so many foreigners in a year.
Two days ago, a Yemeni citizen was hanged in the southwestern region of Najran. He was accused of drug smuggling. After this, the number of foreigners sentenced to death in the year 2024 increased to 101. In the years 2022 and 2023, 34 foreign nationals were hanged.
According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia is at third place after China and Iran in terms of hanging. On the other hand, the foreign nationals who were hanged include citizens of Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Nigeria, Egypt, Jordan, Ethiopia. 21 people have been sentenced to death from Pakistan. 20 from Yemen, 14 from Syria, 10 from Nigeria, 9 from Egypt, 8 from Jordan, 7 from Ethiopia. Three people each from Sudan, India, Afghanistan and one person each from Sri Lanka, Eritrea, Philippines were hanged.
The spike in executions coincides with Saudi Arabia’s resumed enforcement of capital punishment for drug-related crimes, ending a three-year moratorium in 2022. Of the 92 drug-related executions this year, 69 involved foreign nationals, underscoring the disproportionate impact on non-Saudi citizens.
Human rights groups have called the kingdom’s use of the death penalty “excessive” and “out of step” with its efforts to improve its global image. Despite its Vision 2030 programme aimed at attracting international tourists and investors, the Gulf country has carried out 274 executions in 2024 as of November, surpassing its previous record of 196 executions in 2022.
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