Saudi beheads Saleh al-Yami in Najran for hashish and pills smuggling
Saudi Arabia beheaded Saudi citizen Saleh al-Yami in Najran on 6 April 2015 after convicting him of smuggling hashish and banned narcotic pills and of wounding policemen. The beheading was the kingdom's 57th execution of the year.
Saudi Arabia beheaded Saudi citizen Saleh al-Yami in the southern province of Najran on 6 April 2015.[1]The Interior Ministry said he had been convicted of smuggling hashish and banned narcotic pills into the kingdom and of wounding several policemen during a confrontation.[2][1]
The ministry announced the execution through the official Saudi Press Agency.[1]The beheading brought the number of people executed in the kingdom so far that year to 57, with around half of the year’s executions for drug-related offences according to Amnesty International.[2]
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.