The violations that accompany the death penalty in Saudi Arabia combine to make it an arbitrary and continuous punishment that crushes many of the fundamental rights of the victim and their family. Saudi Arabia is still on the list of countries that carry out the death penalty the most in the world, and these violations push it to be among the most arbitrary.
Saudi Arabia violates international laws, principles and recommendations, including its commitments, such as the Convention against Torture and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and its internal laws such as the Juvenile Law. The lack of transparency and intentional ambiguity is one of the most prominent of these violations, which contribute significantly to more violations. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial or arbitrary executions stresses that maintaining secrecy about executions undermines public scrutiny and leads the international community to conclude that these executions are imposed in violation of international law. Tracking many cases of executions, and documenting the violations involved, including torture, ill-treatment, and denial of the right to self-defence, in addition to executions on charges related to the exercise of legitimate rights, Saudi Arabia’s violation of international laws in executions is highly likely.
According to the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, the numbers that have been monitored confirm the significant effects of the lack of transparency in the Saudi government's handling of the execution file. The lack of transparency and disinformation is accompanied by a complete stifling of civil society, which prevents further access to information.
Lack of transparency in lists of those threatened with execution:
The Saudi government does not publish the names of individuals on death row, nor the charges they face, as it is not known how many sentences are currently issued, nor any details about individuals awaiting execution. Even though international law clearly states that information on executions addresses not only the rights of the accused but also the right of the public to access information.
In addition, the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution 69/186 on the moratorium on the application of the death penalty, called on all states to make available information that can contribute to informed and transparent debates at the national and international levels. The lack of reliable information is also a significant obstacle to monitoring through the international human rights system.
While Saudi Arabia has carried out more than 1,058 executions since the beginning of 2015, ESOHR had only monitored 46 cases before execution, which represents approximately 4% of all executions carried out. According to the monitoring, the families do not know the date of the execution or the place of burial, and they are surprised by the news of the execution after the publication by the official media, and this is another negative effect of the lack of transparency.
In addition to the lack of transparency in the official dealings of the Saudi government about the file of execution, the campaigns of intimidation against the families of those threatened with execution prevent access to sufficient information and confirms that the number of those threatened with execution is many times more than the numbers known to the organizations.
Lack of transparency in the implemented operations:
In May 2023, Amnesty International published a report in which it indicated that the Saudi Human Rights Commission had informed it in private correspondence that Saudi Arabia had executed 196 people in 2022. This number is higher than what was published by the Saudi Ministry of the Interior with 48 executions, or 28%, about which no information has been published.
In December 2022, ESOHR monitored the execution of two Yemenis and others without officially publishing the news of the executions. In 2020, the Human Rights Commission announced the implementation of 27 sentences, while the Saudi Ministry of Interior only published news on the official news agency website about the implementation of 25 sentences, in addition to previous information that had indicated that death sentences were carried out without publishing them.
The difference in numbers confirms that Saudi Arabia does not publish information about all the executions it carries out, which indicates that the number of executed individuals is higher than what was monitored during previous years. This constitutes a flagrant violation, as the Special Rapporteur on the death penalty, Christoph Hense, considered that one of the duties of the state is "transparency", as the secrecy surrounding the death penalty is not compatible with the rights of convicted persons, their families and society as a whole. It considered that this secrecy violates the right to a fair and public trial, the prohibition against cruel and degrading treatment, and the right to know. He also emphasized that the government should periodically publish accurate information about each execution, including the name of the person, the charge against him, and the date and place of execution.
ESOHR affirms that obscuring reality, misinformation, and lack of transparency show grave violations committed by the Saudi government. In addition, its intention to continue the arbitrary use of the death penalty. It also considers that its failure to publish the names of those sentenced to death, the charges, and the place and time of execution, confirms Saudi Arabia's approach to misuse and arrogance of the death penalty as political and its contempt for international laws.