Governance CornerFrontline Saudi Arabia Executes 17 Ethiopian Migrants in 2026, Over 70 face Imminent…
July 30, 2026
Saudi authorities executed five Ethiopian migrants for non-lethal drug-related offenses on Monday, bringing the total number of Ethiopian nationals executed on drug charges to at least 17 since the start of 2026, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said this week.
At least 79 more Ethiopian nationals remain at imminent risk of execution under similar charges, according to the rights group.
The five men executed on July 27 were from Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which has suffered severe humanitarian hardship and ongoing rights abuses following the 2020–2022 conflict. Informed sources told HRW that the men fled Tigray, traveled through Yemen, and accepted work under what they believed were legitimate job offers. Saudi authorities arrested them after they unknowingly crossed the border into the Kingdom, later convicting them of “smuggling hashish”.
HRW reported that the men were held for over three years before receiving death sentences in trial proceedings lasting between three and 20 minutes. The organization said the defendants lacked legal counsel, were forced to sign documents in Arabic they could not understand, and received minimal translation services.
International human rights law limits capital punishment strictly to the “most serious crimes” involving intentional killing. United Nations human rights experts have repeatedly emphasized that executing individuals for non-lethal drug offenses violates these legal standards.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights reports that Saudi Arabia has executed at least 116 people of various nationalities as of late July.
HRW renewed its call for Saudi authorities to immediately halt executions, commute death sentences for non-lethal offenses, and guarantee basic due process protections. The group also urged the Ethiopian government to step up consular assistance for citizens facing capital punishment in the Kingdom.