Ethiopian nationals facing death penalty in Saudi Arabia

The government of the Tigray region in northern Ethiopia announced on Thursday that at least 520 Ethiopian nationals are currently held in Saudi Arabian prisons awaiting execution. The detainees were sentenced to death for drug trafficking offenses. Tigray authorities have formally urged the Saudi government to grant clemency to those on death row.

According to official reports and data compiled by Agence France-Presse (AFP), Saudi authorities executed two Ethiopians on Wednesday, following the execution of five others the previous week. Additional executions occurred in June and July, bringing the total number of Ethiopian citizens executed in the kingdom so far in 2026 to 34. AFP records indicate this is the highest number of foreign nationals executed by Saudi Arabia in a single year. Amnesty International reports that Saudi Arabia ranks third globally in the total number of executions conducted between 2022 and 2025, trailing only China and Iran, with over 200 executions recorded within the kingdom during 2026 alone.