Saudi Arabia executed 356 people last year, with foreigners accounting for most of the deaths. Sri Lanka continued registering thousands of workers for Saudi jobs. An examination of execution records, recruitment figures and Sri Lankan law shows how far Colombo’s power extends and where its responsibilities begin.
Saudi Arabia executed 200 foreign nationals and stateless people in 2025, accounting for 56.2% of the 356 people put to death during the year. The figure comes from the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), which monitors execution announcements issued by the Saudi authorities.
The kingdom’s own citizens constituted the largest single nationality group, with 156 executions. Among foreigners, Somalis recorded the highest number, followed by Pakistanis and Ethiopians. Drug-related convictions accounted for most executions, with foreign nationals making up nearly four-fifths of that category.
During the same year, Sri Lanka registered 36,441 people for employment in Saudi Arabia, according to the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE). Government officials also travelled to the kingdom to promote additional job opportunities. Those activities continued as international rights organisations documented an unprecedented number of executions.
A Lakbima News examination of the published records has identified a significant change in the nationality figures. In 2024, Saudi Arabia executed 138 foreigners and 207 Saudi nationals. That meant foreigners represented 40% of the 345 executions recorded that year. In 2025, their combined share rose to 56.2%, an increase of approximately 16.2 percentage points.
The 2024 ESOHR report describes the foreign share as 31%, although its own figures of 138 foreigners and 345 total executions produce 40%. This investigation uses the underlying counts rather than the incorrect percentage printed in that report. The change between the two years is therefore considerably different from what a comparison using the published percentage would suggest.
Somalis lead foreign nationalities, while Saudis remain the largest single group
The nationality figures show an important distinction. Saudi citizens made up 43.8% of all executions in 2025. No foreign country individually recorded more executions than Saudi Arabia. Foreigners nevertheless constituted a majority when counted together.
| Nationality | Executions in 2025 |
|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 156 |
| Somalia | 39 |
| Pakistan | 35 |
| Ethiopia | 35 |
| Egypt | 25 |
| Afghanistan | 18 |
| Jordan | 11 |
| Nigeria | 9 |
| Syria | 7 |
| Iran | 6 |
| Yemen | 6 |
| Sudan | 5 |
| India, Nepal and Bangladesh | 1 each |
| Stateless person | 1 |
Source: ESOHR’s October 2026 review of Saudi execution records. Nationality totals include one stateless person.
Somalis accounted for 39 of the 200 foreign and stateless people executed. Pakistanis and Ethiopians followed with 35 each, while 25 Egyptians and 18 Afghans were put to death. Those five nationalities represented 152 of the 200 cases in the foreign and stateless category.
The figures do not establish that any of these nationalities has the highest individual risk of execution. Calculating that would require the number of residents, migrant workers or people prosecuted from each nationality, together with reliable information about the offences and circumstances of each case. Those denominators are unavailable in the published execution breakdown.
A larger execution count may partly reflect a larger resident population, different exposure to drug-trafficking prosecutions or the circumstances in which migrants enter the country. It can also reflect unequal treatment within the justice system. The available figures alone cannot determine the relative contribution of those factors.
According to ESOHR and Reprieve, 240 people were executed for drug-related offences in 2025. That represented 67.4% of all executions. Of the 240, 188 were foreigners, or 78.3%.
What the figures establish: Foreigners made up a majority of all executions in 2025 and a much larger majority of drug-related executions. The available statistics do not establish whether a specific nationality is more likely to be sentenced to death than another resident group.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have documented concerns about criminal proceedings involving foreign defendants, including allegations of torture, restricted access to lawyers and inadequate interpretation. The concerns are particularly serious where a defendant cannot read court documents or communicate independently with legal counsel.
Saudi Arabia maintains that capital punishment protects public security and enforces the judgments of its courts. Its Interior Ministry’s announcements routinely state that convictions have passed through judicial review and received the necessary authorisation. The government distinguishes between punishment for murder, narcotics offences and other crimes under its legal system.
International human rights organisations dispute the use of execution for offences that do not involve intentional killing. Their criticism extends to the fairness of proceedings and the ability of defendants to challenge evidence and confessions.
Religion cannot be determined from the execution list
The available execution records identify nationality and, in many cases, the charges against the condemned person. They do not provide a reliable breakdown of the religious affiliations of all those executed.
It would therefore be inaccurate to claim that a particular religion accounts for the majority of executions based on nationality alone. A Pakistani, Somali, Ethiopian or Saudi nationality does not establish the religion of the individual concerned. Nor can religion reliably be assigned from a person’s name.
There is, however, substantial evidence of religious discrimination in particular categories of Saudi prosecutions. In a July 2025 investigation covering January 2014 through June 2025, Amnesty International found that members of Saudi Arabia’s Shia Muslim minority accounted for 42% of executions classified as terrorism-related during the period.
That figure applies to the specified terrorism-related category. It must not be presented as a percentage of all executions. Amnesty documented cases involving members of the Shia minority who had participated in protests or funeral processions and faced serious allegations of unfair trials.
The persecution of Shia defendants is also relevant to the current year. On 17 October 2026, Saudi Arabia announced the execution of five Saudi nationals convicted of terrorism-related offences in the Eastern Province. The Interior Ministry alleged that the men had belonged to an external terrorist organisation and had participated in armed activity. Rights organisations have raised concerns about the prosecution of some of those executed, including allegations involving conduct committed while under the age of 18.
