Dubai
Saudi Arabia has given death sentence to more than 100 foreigners this year. This is being seen as an unprecedented increase in the figures of death penalty given in Saudi Arabia. A Yemeni national was sentenced to death in the southwestern region of Najran on Saturday after being found guilty of smuggling drugs into the country, the official Saudi Press Agency reported. The number of foreigners killed so far in 2024 has risen to 101, according to data compiled from state media reports. This is almost triple the figures for 2023 and 2022, when Saudi authorities executed 34 foreigners each year, AFP reports.
Saudi Arabia broke records
The Berlin-based European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) said this year’s executions had already broken records. “This is the largest number of foreigners granted bail in a year,” said Taha al-Hajji, the group’s legal director. “Saudi Arabia has never executed 100 foreigners in a year.” Saudi Arabia has faced ongoing criticism over its use of the death penalty, which human rights groups have described as excessive and as a way to soften its image and attract international tourists and investors. Has been condemned as not keeping pace with welcoming efforts.
Among the top 3 countries that give death penalty
Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is set to execute the third-highest number of prisoners in the world in 2023, behind China and Iran, according to Amnesty International. In September, AFP reported that Saudi Arabia had carried out the highest number of executions in more than three decades. This figure has surpassed its previous high of 196 in 2022 and 192 in 1995. Since then, death sentences have continued at a rapid pace. According to the report, a total of 274 people were hanged this year.
Capital punishment given to citizens of these countries
The foreign nationals hanged include citizens of Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Nigeria, Egypt, Jordan and Ethiopia. These include 21 from Pakistan, 20 from Yemen, 14 from Syria, 10 from Nigeria, nine from Egypt, eight from Jordan and seven from Ethiopia. Three people each from Sudan, India and Afghanistan and one each from Sri Lanka, Eritrea and the Philippines were hanged. Diplomats and activists say foreign defendants do not receive a fair trial. Convicted foreign nationals become victims of big drug dealers. From the time of arrest till the hanging, the accused have to face a lot of difficulties in presenting their case before the court.
