Saudi Arabia executes seven Africans for hashish smuggling
Saudi Arabia executed four Somalis and three Ethiopians in Najran on 2 August 2025 for smuggling hashish, seven of eight executions carried out that day. The kingdom had carried out 230 executions in 2025, 154 of them for drug offences, on pace to top the previous year's record.
Saudi Arabia executed four Somali nationals and three Ethiopians in the
southern region of Najran on Saturday 2 August 2025 for smuggling hashish into
the kingdom, the Saudi Press Agency announced.[1][2]They were seven of eight
people put to death that day amid a surge in capital punishment, particularly
for drug convictions.[1][2]
The executions brought the 2025 total to 230, of which 154 were for
drug-related offences, according to an AFP tally of official announcements.[1][2]At that pace the kingdom was on track to exceed the record 338
executions of the previous year.[1][2]Observers link the rise to the
anti-drug campaign launched in 2023; the death penalty for drug offences had
been paused for about three years before resuming at the end of 2022.[1][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.