On Oct 1st, 2024, ADHRB delivered an intervention at the United Nation Human Rights Council session 57 under item 5 during the General Debate. ADHRB raised concerns about the doubling rate of executions in Saudi Arabia.
We express deep concern regarding the doubling rate of executions carried out in Saudi Arabia this year, with 181 executions recorded between January 2024 and 10 September, including 15 for politically motivated charges.
This sharp rise in executions highlights alarming human rights conditions in the kingdom, especially amid the lack of transparency and widespread distrust in the judicial system.
At least 69 individuals, including 9 minors, currently face execution. The actual number is likely higher due to the absence of transparency, with no disclosure of the legal process, timing, or manner of the executions.
More troubling is Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty to criminalize freedom of expression and retaliate against activists, alongside executions for offenses not considered among the most serious like drug crimes, with 42 executions for such cases since the start of this year.
We urge the council to condemn the Saudi judiciary’s use of anti-terrorism laws to criminalize free expression, as well as the use of torture to extract confessions and executions for non-serious offenses under international law. We demand the abolition of these executions.
