Alarm at surge in executions in Saudi Arabia

General update

On 10th October 2025, 36 NGOs expressed their horror at the alarming surge in executions in Saudi Arabia. At least 300 people have been executed in 2025 as of October, amid egregious violations of international human rights law.

Association & Expression

HRDS CONTINUE TO SUFFER IN PROLONGED DETENTION

Prominent religious scholars and clerics continue to be detained in Saudi Arabia, subjected to constant legal delays and endless pending trials since 2017.

September 2025 marked the eight-year anniversary since the mass arrest of many prominent and influential figures in Saudi Arabia, shortly after Mohammed bin Salman became the Crown Prince and the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia. The group included many influential figures from all backgrounds and affiliations and sent a shock wave through Saudi civil society due to the brutality of the mass arrests, disappearances and reports of torture and ill treatment against the detainees.

Some of the detainees have been released on conditions of travel bans, ankle monitors and constant surveillance to ensure their voices are silenced in any activities on public affairs. However, eight prominent figures remain detained and subjected to endless delays since 2017, in violation of their right to due process. They include the prominent religious scholar Dr. Salman Al-Oudah and Dr. Awadh Al-Qarni, both of whom were long-term advocates for reforms and enjoyed massive popularity across the country and the Islamic world. Hassan Farhan Al-Malki, one of the most well-known scholars who advocated for religious tolerance for several years, is also among the detainees.

The trials against the detainees reportedly started in September 2018. The Public Prosecution called for the death sentence against Dr. Al-Oudah, according to sources close to the family. However, the trials kept on being postponed until the lockdown in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the authorities informed the families not to attend the hearings until they are informed of a new court schedule.

At the time of writing, no court hearings have been scheduled for their cases. Dr. Al-Oudah, Dr. Al-Qarni and Al-Malki have been kept in solitary confinement since their arrests. The ill treatment and limited access to medical care have reportedly caused Dr. Al-Oudah to suffer from significant loss of vision and hearing.

In addition, Essam Al-Zamel remains in detention. He is a renowned economist and writer whose work was recognised by awards from the Saudi government shortly before his arrest. Al-Zamel was one of more than 30 journalists and writers who were arrested between September and November of 2017.

Other well-known religious clerics and scholars such as Mohammed Al-Moussa Al-Shareef and Ibrahim Al-Nasser also remain in detention. This group was tried and sentenced to various prison terms.

Several religious scholars and academics were released in September 2025 after serving lengthy prison terms. Amongst those released is the academic Dr. Khalid Al-Oudah, the brother of Dr. Salman Al-Oudah. He was arrested on 12 September 2017 and sentenced to five years in prison on two charges that included showing sympathy after the arrest of his brother, Dr. Salman Al-Oudah, and for working simultaneously in private and public jobs.

Dr. Adel Bana’ma, a professor of Arabic language and a journalist, was also arrested during the wave of mass arrests of mostly religious and academic community figures on 12th September 2017. During his detention, he was subjected to prolonged solitary confinement, a visitation ban, denial of legal representation, denial of adequate medical care, and expulsion from his academic job. He was released in July 2025, nine years after his detention in Jeddah Dahban prison.

Dr. Ibrahim Al-Harthy, a religious academic and scholar, was arrested on 11th September 2017 and initially sentenced to five years in prison by the Specialised Criminal Court. During his detention, he was subjected to torture, solitary confinements and mistreatment. He was not released until June 2025, nine years after his arrest. Similarly, Ghorm Al-Bishi, a religious scholar, was arrested on 10th September 2017 and was released in June 2025, after nine years of imprisonment.

Despite the recent spate of prisoner releases, the Saudi authorities’ severe repression of rights activists and critics remains. On 8th August 2025, 12 human rights organisations expressed their deep concern over the continued arbitrary detention of the Saudi human rights defender Mohammed Al-Bajadi more than two years beyond his sentence.

Expression

JOURNALIST EXECUTED AFTER YEARS IN DETENTION

The record-breaking number of executions over the past year has reflected a continuing and deepening human rights crisis. Authorities have been carrying out executions at an unprecedented rate, including those of minors, since 2023 without apparent due process.

In 2023, a total of 172 confirmed executions were carried out, while in 2024, the country recorded the highest number, with Amnesty International documenting at least 345 executions, and in 2025 at least 300 executions have been undertaken in only the first 10 months of the year. Of those executed, at least 35 have been executed for political or arbitrary reasons so far, including individuals punished for tweets or peaceful opinions posted on social media.

In June 2025, Saudi journalist Turki al-Jasser was executed after seven years of arbitrary imprisonment. He was only the second journalist to be executed globally since 2020 and the first in Saudi Arabia under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's reign. Due to his online activities, Al-Jasser was arrested in 2018 and subsequently found guilty on false accusations of treason and terrorism. He was charged by authorities for allegedly operating the anonymous X account "Kashkool" which revealed purported corruption and human rights abuses involving Saudi royal family members.

Peaceful Assembly

PROTESTERS EXECUTED FOR 2011/2012 PROTESTS

In August 2025, 30-year-old Jalal Labbad was executed for participating in a peaceful protest when he was a minor. On 23rd February 2017, he was arrested without a judicial warrant, after security forces raided his family home at Al-Awamiyah. His arrest was in relation to his peaceful participation, when he was 15 years old, in protests in 2011 and 2012 against the discrimination of his community in the Eastern region, as well as his attendance at funerals of fellow protesters killed by the security forces.

Reports confirmed that he was placed in solitary confinement, tortured several times, and transported repeatedly to a hospital for problems arising from his torture.

Labbad’s trial did not start until 2019, when his case was reviewed by the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC). He was accused and convicted of several charges including “participation in a demonstration”, “attending funerals of victims shot by government forces”, and “helping to treat and shelter wanted persons who were wounded and shooting at and throwing Molotov cocktails at soldiers”. He was also accused of participating in the killing of Judge Mohammed Al-Jirani, although no concrete evidence of his culpability was before the court.

On 31st July 2022, the SCC sentenced Labbad to death. On 4th October 2022, the SCC of Appeal upheld the sentence, and on 13th October 2023, the Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence in a secret hearing, without notifying his family or legal representatives.

His brother Fadel Labbad was also executed in 2019, while his third brother, Mohammed Labbad, was sentenced to death in October 2022, with his sentence upheld after a retrial.

30-year-old Abdullah al-Derazi was also executed in October 2025 for taking part in peaceful protests held in 2011 and 2012, when he was just 17. He was sentenced to death on 20th February 2018 on terrorism-related charges following a deeply unfair trial that depended on a confession obtained through torture.