Iraqi beheaded for hashish as two others die for opiates
Saudi Arabia beheaded Iraqi national Ahmed al-Khazali on 4 February 2008 after convicting him of smuggling hashish. Two other foreigners were beheaded the same day for trafficking opiates, bringing the year's announced executions to 23.
Saudi Arabia beheaded Iraqi national Ahmed al-Khazali on Monday 4 February 2008 after convicting him of smuggling hashish into the kingdom, the Interior Ministry said in statements carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.[1][2]No amount was given for the hashish.[1][2]
Two other foreigners were beheaded the same day for trafficking opiates: Indian national Rashid Akbar Hussein Eddin and Pakistani national Wassee-Allah Rafee-Allah Khan.[1][2]Their deaths brought the number of executions announced in Saudi Arabia that year to 23, after a record 153 people were put to death in 2007.[2]
Drug trafficking is among the offences that can carry the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, alongside murder, rape, apostasy and armed robbery; executions are usually carried out in public by sword.[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.