Saudi Arabia’s selection as host for the FIFA World Cup 2034, confirmed in December 2024, occurs against a backdrop of escalating executions, widespread torture allegations, and unfair trials documented by international organizations. By October 2025, the Kingdom had executed at least 300 individuals, surpassing the 2024 record of 345, with many cases involving coerced confessions from torture and lacking due process. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International report that these practices persist, including against dissidents and foreign nationals, raising profound concerns about the suitability of hosting a global event that FIFA claims promotes human rights. This article details these violations, connecting them to sportswashing efforts that risk legitimizing abuses through the World Cup, while highlighting calls for boycotts to enforce accountability.
Surge in executions
Saudi Arabia recorded 345 executions in 2024, the highest in modern history, with 122 for drug-related offenses, many involving foreign nationals under unfair procedures. In 2025, the pace accelerated: 269 by August 27, including 118 for drugs in the first half, and 300 by October, on track to break records again. UN experts warned in June 2025 against executing 26 Egyptians, many convicted on torture-extracted confessions without fair trials. Cases like Jalal Labbad’s execution on August 21, 2025, defied UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention recommendations, involving a child defendant tried unfairly. From January 2014 to June 2025, 1,816 executions occurred, 597 for drugs, contradicting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s 2022 pledge to limit the death penalty to murder. These figures, primarily from official sources, underscore a pattern incompatible with international standards.
Prevalence of torture in detention
Torture remains routine in Saudi detention centers, used to extract confessions that form the basis of convictions, as documented in multiple 2025 reports. Amnesty International examined cases where detainees endured beatings, electric shocks, and solitary confinement, leading to false admissions; at least four 2025 drug cases involved such ill-treatment. Abdullah al-Derazi, executed October 20, 2025, was tortured into a coma before signing a coerced confession resulting in his death sentence. The Saudi Human Rights Commission claims a 10-year minimum sentence for torturers, yet allegations persist without accountability, particularly against activists and migrants. UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination noted increased executions of Shia minorities post-2023, often after torture-tainted trials. Foreign nationals, 75% of drug-related executions from 2014-2025, face heightened risks under the kafala system.
Unfair trials and lack of due process
Saudi trials frequently violate fair trial rights, relying solely on torture-obtained confessions without access to lawyers or evidence scrutiny. In 2025, at least 35 executions stemmed from political charges like social media posts, with defendants denied appeals or family notification until execution day. Mohamed Saad and Omar Sherif, executed October 21, 2025, exemplify this: rushed proceedings ignored torture claims. The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights reported 2024’s record executions followed grossly unfair processes, including for minors. Judges impose death under ta’zir discretionary powers, expanding beyond “most serious crimes” per international law, as seen in 122 such 2024 cases. Psychological impacts devastate families, unaware of execution dates until notified hours prior.
Historical context of abuses
Decades of documented violations predate Vision 2030, with cases like Raif Badawi’s 2012 sentencing to 1,000 lashes for blogging persisting into 2025. US State Department 2023 reports confirm arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances, and torture as significant issues. Post-2023, executions of Shia surged, targeting protesters via unfair trials. 2025 saw nine-year detentions without charge, like one activist released in June after torture. These patterns, whitewashed by the Saudi Human Rights Commission despite UN critiques, show no reform trajectory ahead of 2034 preparations.
Connection to FIFA World Cup 2034 bid
Saudi Arabia’s 2034 bid book promised human rights compliance, yet ignored torture and trial flaws, as critiqued by Amnesty for lacking credible safeguards. Migrant workers building infrastructure over 10 million in the Kingdom face similar detention risks under kafala, mirroring Qatar’s 6,500+ World Cup-related deaths. FIFA’s process, limited by rotation rules, awarded the bid despite a May 2025 legal complaint over unmet human rights criteria. Executions continued post-award, with 292 by October 2025, signaling no pause for event preparations. This enables sportswashing, projecting progress via $200 billion investments while abuses mount.
Parallels with previous controversial hosts
Qatar’s 2022 World Cup featured unfair trials and migrant torture, with FIFA failing to enforce reforms despite promises. Russia 2018 ignored dissent crackdowns, echoing Saudi patterns. Both saw rushed bids and post-award violations, eroding trust; Saudi 2034 risks exceeding these, given 2025’s 300+ executions. FIFA’s 2015 scandal highlighted corruption in selections, prioritizing finance over rights.
Global calls for boycott
Amnesty, Human Rights Watch, and 21 NGOs urged halting the bid in November 2024, demanding moratoriums on executions and torture probes. A 2025 joint statement called for upholding commitments post-300 executions. Norway’s federation opposed over governance; activists like Lina Alhathloul pushed boycotts. Legal challenges argue FIFA’s complicity; redirection to rights-compliant nations is advocated to protect workers and dissidents.
The torture legacy
Saudi Arabia’s enduring legacy of torture and unfair trials forms a stark contradiction to its role as host of the FIFA World Cup 2034, confirmed in December 2024 despite an unprecedented execution surge in 2025 that reached at least 302 individuals by October, surpassing the 2024 record of 345. Human Rights Watch documented 241 executions by August 5, 2025, including 162 for nonlethal drug offenses often based on coerced confessions extracted through beatings, electric shocks, and prolonged solitary confinement, with over half involving foreign nationals lacking access to lawyers or evidence review.
Cases like journalist Turki al-Jasser’s June 14 execution for exposing royal corruption highlight systemic due process violations, where trials rely solely on torture-tainted statements, defying UN recommendations and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s 2022 pledge to restrict capital punishment to murder. From January 2014 to June 2025, 1,816 executions occurred, with 597 (32.9%) for drugs prohibited under international law and 75% of those victims foreign nationals under the exploitative kafala system.