Saudi Arabia: 34 Egyptians among dozens face execution for drug offenses

Dozens of prisoners in Saudi Arabia face the death penalty for drug-related offenses. Human rights groups warn of a rise in executions, despite authorities promising to abolish the punishment.

The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) said on Thursday that there had been a sharp increase in the death penalty between May and August. By August 22, 30 executions had already been carried out.

In Tabuk General Prison alone, at least 50 people are at risk of execution. According to ESOHR, 34 of those sentenced to death in the prison are Egyptians, along with other foreigners, including Jordanians and Syrians.

Two Egyptian citizens, Walid al-Baqi and Youssef Khudair, were executed on August 13 for smuggling marijuana and amphetamines, the rights group said.

ESOHR also documented the abuses suffered by Egyptians on death row in Tabuk Prison, including the failure of the Egyptian Embassy in the Kingdom to provide them with adequate defence, the failure to assign them a lawyer, and cases of torture and ill-treatment.

Between 2020 and 2022, Saudi Arabia suspended executions for drug offenses. However, they resumed in December 2022, sparking an outcry from activists.

The kingdom has executed hundreds of people in recent years for various crimes, including political dissidents.

In 2023, a joint report by ESOHR and Reprieve revealed that the execution rate in Riyadh has almost doubled since King Salman and his son Mohammed bin Salman came to power in 2015. Between 2015 and 2022, the number of executions increased by 82 percent.

In February this year, seven Saudi men were killed in a mass execution, the highest number of executions in one day since the execution of 81 men in March 2022.

According to Reprieve, foreign nationals, including female domestic workers and drug offenders, are “disproportionately” affected.

Although the Crown Prince promised in a 2018 interview to keep executions to a minimum, Saudi Arabia remains one of the countries with the most executions in the world.