In an unprecedented bloody step, Saudi Arabia executed a citizen during Ramadan. The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights has not monitored death sentences during Ramadan for fourteen years. Since 2009, the Saudi Ministry of Interior's data shows no sentence has been implemented during the holy month.
The execution, which took place in Medina on March 30 increased the number of executions from 2023 until March to 17 executions. All of the 17 death sentences took place in March.
The execution of the death penalty during the holy month is in addition to the series of violations that have emerged and intensified during King Salman's reign and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It also coincides with several indicators that raise serious fears for threatened detainees, including minors. It shows Saudi Arabia's insistence on no social, cultural or humanitarian restrictions. It also shows its lack of commitment to promises to restrict and limit executions. It is additionally an indication of a desire to speed up the execution of death sentences.
Among the executions carried out this year was the execution of Jordanian citizen Hussein Abu al-Khair on 12 March on drug-related charges. This was despite international legal opinions that considered his sentence arbitrary and called for his release. In addition to Abu al-Khair, Saudi Arabia executed Haider al-Tahifa on charges, including those related to demonstrations.
According to nationalities, the executions were distributed among 12 Saudi nationals, a Pakistani citizen, an Indian and a Jordanian, while 7 of the executions were based on Taazir rulings (the judge’s assessment of the punishment).
In March 2023, Saudi Arabia ratified dozens of rulings. Among the rulings ratified by the Specialized Court of Appeal, the ruling against each of the minors, Youssef al-Manasif, Hassan Zaki al-Faraj, Muhammad al-Mabiyouq, Ali Hassan al-Subaiti, added their rulings to the list of judgments of minors that were previously approved, namely, Jawad Qureiris, Abdullah al-Derazi, Jalal Labbad, and Abdullah al-Hwaiti.
ESOHR confirms that execution during Ramadan poses a serious threat to those threatened. ESOHR's data show that at least 64 people are threatened with execution at various levels of litigation. While the families believed that the execution of the rulings would be paused during Ramadan, the latest ruling raises real concerns, especially since Saudi Arabia does not notify them in advance.
ESOHR considers that implementing the sentence during Ramadan is an indication of bloodshed escalation. It also reveals that Salman and his son broke the covenant of all restrictions, values, and promises they made. They also had a strong desire to continue killing, including minors, prisoners of conscience, and Taazir rulings.