Saudi Arabia Executes 10 Nigerians and 79 Others in 2024

Saudi Arabia executed 10 Nigerians and 79 others in 2024, mostly for drug-related offenses. This number is nearly triple the total executions of 34 foreigners in 2023 and 2022.

In 2024, Saudi Arabia executed 10 Nigerians and 79 other foreigners, including 21 Pakistanis, 20 Yemenis, and 14 Syrians.

The European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) stated this year’s total of over 100 foreign executions is a record for Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia has faced criticism for its high use of the death penalty, with human rights groups calling it excessive.

In 2023, it had the third-highest number of executions globally, after China and Iran. By the end of 2024, Saudi Arabia had executed 274 people, surpassing its previous record.

In 2024, Saudi Arabia executed 92 people for drug-related crimes, 69 of them foreigners. Activists say foreign defendants face unfair trials and violations, often being victims of drug cartels.

Saudi Arabia is known for beheading those convicted of capital crimes, though it doesn’t always confirm the method.

The high number of executions contradicts Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s 2022 claim that Saudi Arabia had limited the death penalty to murder or serious threats.

With executions expected to exceed 300 in 2024, human rights expert Basyouni called it an “unprecedented execution crisis,” and families of foreign nationals on death row are fearful.

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