HRW Says Five Ethiopians Executed in Saudi Arabia, 79 More at Risk
Human Rights Watch says Saudi Arabia executed five Ethiopian migrants on July 27 for non-lethal drug offences and that at least 79 other Ethiopians face imminent execution.
In short
- Human Rights Watch says Saudi Arabia executed five Ethiopian migrants on July 27 for non-lethal drug offences and that at least 79 other Ethiopians face imminent execution.
Saudi Arabia executed five Ethiopian migrants on July 27 for non-lethal drug offences, bringing the number of Ethiopian nationals put to death on drug charges in the kingdom this year to at least 17, according to Human Rights Watch.
The rights group said at least 79 other Ethiopians face imminent execution on similar charges. The Reporter Ethiopia, citing HRW, said the five men were from Tigray and had left the region after the 2020–2022 conflict.
According to the account, the men travelled through Yemen after accepting what they believed were legitimate job offers and were arrested after crossing into Saudi Arabia. They were later convicted of smuggling hashish.
HRW alleged serious due-process failures, including the absence of legal counsel, inadequate interpretation and proceedings lasting between three and 20 minutes. It also said the defendants were required to sign Arabic-language documents they could not understand. AddisMizan has not independently verified those allegations, and the Saudi authorities’ response was not included in the stored source report.
International human-rights standards restrict capital punishment to the most serious crimes involving intentional killing. HRW called on Saudi Arabia to halt the executions and commute death sentences for non-lethal offences. It also urged Ethiopia’s government to increase consular assistance for citizens facing capital punishment in Saudi Arabia.
