The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights and Reprieve have affirmed that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is violating international law and its specific commitments regarding the application of the death penalty, especially the right of individuals to seek clemency or sentence reduction.
In a report to the Human Rights Council, the organizations provided information about Saudi Arabia's non-compliance with Article 6 and Article 14(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights regarding the right to seek clemency or reduce the death penalty, the appeal of death sentences before a higher court, and similar obligations under the Arab Charter. Article 6(4) states that "Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. Pardon or commutation of the sentence may be granted in all cases." Article 14(5) states that "Everyone convicted of a crime shall have the right to his conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal according to law."
- Usage of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia has not ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, but it did ratify the Arab Charter on Human Rights in 2004. Articles 6 and 16(7) of the Arab Charter contain provisions similar to Article 6(4) and Article 14(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Saudi Arabia is among the countries with one of the highest execution rates. Between 2010 and 2021, it executed at least 1,243 people. The execution process is shrouded in secrecy, as in most cases, families are not informed about the execution dates, and the bodies of those executed are not returned. Additionally, the trials often do not meet the minimum international standards.
Furthermore, Saudi Arabia does not publicly disclose data about individuals sentenced to death. This lack of transparency allows the country to carry out executions without scrutiny, hindering the efforts of other nations and organizations to hold it accountable.
- The right to seek clemency or sentence reduction
Death sentences are divided into three categories: Qisas, Hudud, and Ta'zir. Each of them has its own rules related to seeking clemency.
- Mandatory Death Penalties (Hudud):
There is no right to clemency for individuals facing hudud death penalties, as the punishment is determined by Islamic law, and there is no right to pardon in these cases. Between 2010 and 2021, 13% (162 out of 1243) of all executed individuals fell into this category.
- Discretionary Death Penalties (Ta'zir):
The king can grant clemency to individuals facing a final death penalty sentence by retaliation. However, these procedures are unclear, with no clear guidelines on how individuals at risk of execution can seek clemency. There have been no recorded royal pardons for individuals facing retaliatory death sentences.
The mysterious nature of clemency procedures within this category is exemplified in the case of Hussein Abu Al-Khair, a Jordanian citizen executed on March 12, 2023, on charges of drug trafficking. In June 2021, the king issued royal directives to the General Directorate of Prisons, instructing them to implement clemency procedures for individuals detained on drug-related crimes, but it was not clear if this included individuals sentenced to death.
In August 2021, a group of British parliamentarians wrote a joint letter to the Saudi Interior Minister requesting clemency for Abu Al-Khair in line with the royal directives mentioned above. The Saudi Interior Minister did not acknowledge the request. In May 2022, Abu Al-Khair's sister sent a letter to the Interior Minister requesting Hussein's release, but there was no response to the request.
Despite multiple efforts from various entities to demand the release of Abu Al-Khair and repeated assurances by prison guards that he would be pardoned, Saudi Arabia executed him without prior notice on March 12, 2023.
- Qisas Death Penalties:
If the accused is convicted of committing murder within the category of Qisas, the victim's family can request the execution of the accused or accept financial compensation, known as "diyah." Instead, the victim's family can also pardon the accused without receiving Diyah, and the king is not permitted to issue a pardon in this category. The decision regarding clemency for the accused is often made after mediation between the families of the victim and the accused. There is no mechanism for the accused to request clemency from the state in this category. Between 2010 and 2021, 40% (498 out of 1243) of all recorded executions in Saudi Arabia fell into this category.
The minor Abdullah Al-Huwaiti faces the risk of execution under Qisas judgment, despite confirmation by the United Nations Working Group that his detention was arbitrary. Al-Huwaiti's case is currently before the Supreme Court, and if the judgment is upheld, the king does not have the right to pardon, as it is supposed to be the right of the victim's family.
Relying on the goodwill of the victim's family to pardon the accused instead of implementing procedures that ensure the accused's right to clemency violates Article 6(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and similar provisions in Article 6 of the Arab Charter. Given the entirely opaque criminal justice system, the number of accused individuals who have been pardoned is unknown.
- Legal provisions related to sentence reduction.
There are no provisions in the local law that allow individuals who have been sentenced to death with final judgments to request a reduction in their sentence. One royal decree has been claimed to have an impact on allowing the reduction of final death sentences. In 2020, a royal decree was issued to reduce the death penalty for all juveniles. In February 2021, the Saudi Human Rights Commission informed the United Nations Human Rights Council that as a result of the 2020 royal decree, "anyone who commits a crime deserving of the death penalty when they were a child" would receive "a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison," and later, final death sentences against Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoun, and Abdullah al-Zaher were commuted to 10 years in prison.
Despite the royal decree being issued three years ago, it has not been officially enacted as a law, making it impossible to verify its scope or extent.
In June 2021, Saudi Arabia executed the juvenile Mustafa Al-Darwish despite his eligibility for a reduced sentence under the announced royal decree. Therefore, the sentence reduction procedures for juveniles do not provide any guarantees, as the procedures for seeking clemency or sentence reduction remain unknown.
- The right to appeal a death sentence before the Supreme Court.
Under the law, individuals who have been sentenced to death by the trial court have the right to appeal their sentences before the Court of Appeal. The sentences upheld by the Court of Appeal are automatically reviewed by the Supreme Court.
The cases of executions investigated by Reprieve and the European Saudi Organization reveal that appellate courts often do not provide genuine safeguards to protect the rights of individuals facing the death penalty. The fundamental rights of the accused are violated in each stage of the legal proceedings, as there is often insufficient investigation into torture, ill-treatment, and other violations.
Tracking death penalty cases in Saudi Arabia reveals its failure to comply with its obligations under Article 6(4) and Article 14(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as corresponding provisions under the Arab Charter. As a result, there is no real right to clemency, and in the rare cases where clemency or sentence reduction is applied, it is done with a lack of transparency, accountability, and accessibility to the extent that it becomes meaningless.
Furthermore, the right to appeal is entirely ineffective due to the widespread use of confessions tainted by torture by the state. In this way, Saudi Arabia violates international human rights law and deprives individuals facing the death penalty of their fundamental rights guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention against Torture, and the safeguards of the Economic and Social Council.