Saudi Arabia executes 5 Ethiopians over drug-related charges, rights group says
Human Rights Watch said the men were denied lawyers and translators, and at least 79 other Ethiopian migrants face similar death sentences.
- On Monday, July 27, 2026, Saudi authorities executed five Ethiopian migrants for nonlethal drug-related offenses, according to Human Rights Watch, which reported the men faced trials lacking due process and legal representation.
- Fleeing armed conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, the migrants faced poverty in Yemen before traffickers forced them to carry packages with unknown contents; they unknowingly crossed into Saudi Arabia where authorities arrested them.
- Detained for more than three years in the Khamis Mushait facility, the men endured court sessions lasting between three and twenty minutes without lawyers, forced to sign documents in Arabic they could not read.
- Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea condemned the executions as violating international law, while the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry stated it remains 'closely engaged' with Saudi authorities regarding nationals facing legal proceedings.
- At least 79 other Ethiopians remain at imminent risk of execution on similar charges, as Saudi Arabia has executed at least 116 people this year, continuing to apply the death penalty for drug offenses.
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Associated Press News
Saudi Arabia executes 5 Ethiopians over drug-related charges, rights group says
Human Rights Watch says Saudi Arabia executed five Ethiopians this week on drug-related charges after a trial that allegedly lacked due process.
Saudi Arabia Executes 17 Ethiopian Migrants In 2026, Over 70 Face Imminent Execution: HRW
Saudi authorities executed five Ethiopian migrants for non-lethal drug-related offenses on Monday, bringing the total number of Ethiopian nationals executed on drug charges to at least 17 since the start of 2026, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said this week. At least 79 more Ethiopian nationals remain at imminent risk of execution under similar charges, according to the rights group. The five men executed on July 27 were from Ethiopia’s northern Tigr…
Lords Spiritual press Saudi Crown Prince over Ethiopian death‑row cases | Anglican Ink © 2026
Three Church of England bishops sitting in the House of Lords have warned that dozens of Ethiopian Christians face execution in a Saudi prison under conditions they say involve trafficking, torture, and denial of basic legal and religious rights—and have appealed directly to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to halt the killings and bring the Kingdom’s practice into line with its own stated policies. In a letter dated 24 July 2026 on House of Lor…
The Saudi authorities have executed five Ethiopian migrants on the same day for non-lethal drug-related crimes "without due process", bringing to 17 the number of citizens of that nationality who have been executed so far this year in the kingdom on similar charges. Human Rights Watch (HRW) denounced it in the last few hours in a statement, an act that took place last Monday, although so far Saudi Arabia has not reacted to this information.
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