Saudi Arabia executed 101 foreigners in 2024, the largest number of people put to death in a single year in the kingdom’s history. The figure represents nearly three times the number of foreigners executed in 2023 and 2022 (34 each year).
Human rights organisations have accused the kingdom of an unprecedented escalation in its use of the death penalty.
Drug-related offences drove many of these deaths. Of the 92 executions linked to drug crimes this year, 69 involved foreign nationals.
“Foreigners are the most vulnerable group,” Taha al-Hajji, the legal director of the European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), was quoted as saying by the news agency AFP. “They are often victims of major drug dealers and subjected to a series of violations from the moment of their arrest until their execution.”
