21 Executions Since the Beginning of 2024 in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia has witnessed a notable increase in the pace of executing death sentences since the beginning of 2024, with 21 people executed so far, the latest of which were 7 Saudi citizens on February 27, on charges of treason, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior.

According to the statement, none of them were charged with premeditated murder, raising real concerns that their killings were for political purposes related to freedom of expression.

These practices raise significant concerns regarding human rights, especially in the absence of judicial independence and its politicization, where courts are used as a political tool to suppress opposition and silence critical voices.

The Saudi government uses vague charges in execution cases, especially concerning freedom of expression. Writing tweets on social media platforms can expose individuals to the risk of execution, as was the case with Professor Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, who was sentenced to death in July 2023 for tweets on the platform x.

SANAD Organisation for Human Rights calls on Saudi Arabia to reform its judicial system to ensure its independence and impartiality, and demands a halt to the execution of political purposes or to intimidate society, or on vague charges that are not punishable by law, especially those related to freedom of expression.