Saudi Arabia beheaded Amer al-Roueili in al-Jouf province on 1 May 2000 after convicting him of smuggling hashish and other drugs and of financing drug smugglers. The Interior Ministry said the execution was the kingdom's 25th beheading that year.
Saudi Arabia beheaded Saudi national Amer al-Roueili on 1 May 2000 in the northern province of al-Jouf.[1]An Interior Ministry statement said he had been convicted of smuggling hashish and other drugs into the kingdom and of financing drug smugglers, giving no further details.[1]
The execution, carried out with a sword in a public square, brought the number of beheadings in the kingdom that year to 25, after at least 99 people were executed the year before.[1]Saudi Arabia imposes the death penalty for drug trafficking under its interpretation of Islamic law, and human rights groups say defendants are often denied access to lawyers and fair trials.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry executed two Ethiopian nationals in the Asir region on 11 November 2026 after convicting them of smuggling amphetamine pills and hashish into the kingdom. The ministry named the men and said their death sentences became final after appeal and confirmation by the Supreme Court.
Saudi Arabia executed five Ethiopian nationals in the Asir region on 5 November 2026 after convicting them of smuggling hashish. The executions brought the kingdom's 2026 total to 205, including 124 drug cases and 32 Ethiopians.
Saudi Arabia executed three Ethiopian nationals in the Asir region on 7 October 2026 after a court convicted them of jointly smuggling hashish into the kingdom. The interior ministry named them and said the death sentence was upheld on appeal and by the Supreme Court.
Saudi Arabia carried out a discretionary death sentence against Firas bin Ahmed bin Saleh Al-Sabah in the Madinah region on 29 August 2026 after convicting him a second time of trafficking hashish by transport.