Saudi Arabia has among the strictest rates of execution in the world, and foreign nationals often comprise a large proportion of those who receive the death penalty. The kingdom applies hard-line interpretations of Sharia law, calling for the death penalty for offenses like murder, drug trafficking and even sorcery. But concerns have been raised about the fairness of trials, the treatment of foreign prisoners and the use of coerced confessions. This article looks at the legal framework, the challenges faced by foreign workers, the execution process, and international responses to the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Public Executions In Saudi Arabia
Public executions, often beheadings, are conducted as a deterrent. Some cases involve firing squads too, and in extreme cases, bodies are left on display for the public after the execution. Unlike many countries that apply the death penalty after lengthy legal procedures, Saudi Arabia’s judicial processes are quick, with few avenues to appeal. This lack of legal transparency, in particular, has raised alarm bells in the international community.
The Death Penalty in Saudi Arabia for Foreign Nationals
Many of those put to death in Saudi Arabia are foreign workers, mainly from South and Southeast Asia. Many of these workers come to Saudi Arabia for jobs where they do domestic or low-skilled labor, and they are caught in a legal system that leaves them little recourse.
For foreign nationals accused of crimes, language barriers, lack of legal representation, and forced confessions are too common. A lot cannot afford lawyers and do not know their own rights, thus making them particularly susceptible to harsh sentencing. Detainees are reportedly tortured into confession and also subjected to psychological abuse, raising further doubts over the validity of their trials.
Women employed as domestic workers have been particularly affected, with numerous cases of maids executed after killing their employers — frequently saying they acted in self-defense against abuse. Countries like Indonesia, Pakistan and the Philippines have lobbied Saudi authorities several times to be granted clemency for their nationals, though with limited success.
How the Process of Execution Works
In Saudi Arabia, executions are conducted in a way that is meant to be both punitive and demonstrative. Such executions are typically carried out in public squares after Friday prayers, with those under conviction beheaded with a sword. Public executions are meant to reinforce the kingdom’s strict interpretation of Sharia law and to serve as a warning to others.
Bodies are sometimes displayed after execution, particularly in terrorism cases or involving other extreme crimes. A practice denounced by human rights group as inhumane and degrading polled extremely well. While firing squads are sometimes used, beheading is the main method.
Despite widespread international condemnation, Saudi authorities persist in defending public executions as a necessary component of the country’s legal system. But the secretive nature of the no trial and very little transparency about how evidence is handled and sentence imposed means there is no oversight on this and it leads to wrongful conviction and no fair trial.
The killing of foreign nationals by Saudi Arabia has drawn scrutiny from human rights groups, foreign governments and United Nations organizations. Saudi Arabia has also faced intense criticism from human rights groups and international observers for allegations of human rights abuses within its judicial system, including a lack of access to fair trials, a reliance on confessions extracted through torture, and application of the death penalty to non-violent offenses.
And several countries have protested the execution of their citizens, especially when due process has been violated. Indonesia has intervened several times in cases of its migrant workers, but clemency is rarely granted in Saudi Arabia.
Undeterred, Saudi Arabia shows resistance to global condemnation. The close economic relationships it has with Western countries and its strategic geopolitical location protect it from more forceful punitive actions that could otherwise be imposed on nations with a similar human rights record.
Religious and Cultural justifications for Capital Punishment
Saudi Arabia defends its use of the death penalty by saying that its use is mandated by Islamic law, which calls for capital punishment for specific crimes. Under qisas (retributive justice) they victims’ family can choose the death penalty or diyya (blood money) or accept the alternative. And sometimes, families of victims opt for financial compensation instead of an execution, resulting in last-minute pardons.
The kingdom also implements hudud punishments — pre-determined penalties prescribed in Islamic texts for crimes like adultery, theft and apostasy. But how Sharia law is interpreted varies across Muslim countries. Some, such as Iran and Pakistan, still implement capital punishment; others, such as Tunisia and Turkey, have gotten rid of it.
Current Trends and Notable Cases
Saudi Arabia has greatly increased its use of the death penalty in recent years, despite promises of reforms to the legal system. In 2022, the kingdom conducted its largest mass execution in modern times, executing 81 people in a single day. Already in 2023, at least 172 executions have been recorded — including many foreign nationals accused of drug-related offences.
Among the most controversial cases are:
- Indonesian Maids: Dozens of Indonesian maids have been executed for killing their employers, often claiming it as self-defense against abuse. In some cases, their families did not even learn that the execution had taken place until after the fact.
- Pakistani Drug Trafficking Cases: Numerous Pakistani people have been executed over drug-related offenses, even though they had been allegedly deceived into smuggling drugs and denied fair trials.
- Srl Lankan Witchcraft Case: A Sri Lankan woman was executed for practicing sorcery, an accusation that was condemned internationally.
Saudi Arabia’s contentious position on drug-related crimes has been a source of oil-pipeline friction, especially as attitudes toward drug offenses elsewhere in the world increasingly lean toward rehabilitation rather than execution.
The Future of Capital Punishment in Saudi Arabia
Despite some legal reforms in recent years, such as banning executions for minors, capital punishment remains an ingrained element of the country’s judicial system. Some dialogue has occurred with regard to scaling back executions for drug-related offenses, but no major policy changes have been implemented.
Magistrates in the United Kingdom have ruled that the recent wave of Saudi Arabia executions, especially those of foreign nationals, reveal a lack of transparency and due process in the country’s legal system. But with Saudi Arabia’s history, any substantial changes in its use of the death penalty seem improbable in the short term.