A study published by the Indian organization Project 39A revealed contradictory figures published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding individuals facing the death penalty or being executed there, in addition to the grave violations they are subjected to.
The organization focused on collecting data on Indians sentenced to death in the Middle East and North Africa through requests submitted under the right to information to Indian embassies and consulates, as well as interviews.
The study showed that in light of the limited data, it was difficult to identify all the information, but the results confirmed that the information available to the public is not reliable.
The study showed that while the Saudi Press Agency, quoting the Ministry of Interior, published death sentences against 5 individuals of Indian nationality between 2011 and 2021, the embassy said that Saudi Arabia executed 10 people. According to the information received, three of the ten convicts faced drug-related charges, while the other seven faced murder charges.
While the information spread on the Internet indicates that there are 4 Indian nationals facing execution in Saudi Arabia, the information received from the embassy indicated that 11 Indians are currently under sentence of death.
The study conducted several interviews with experts, including an interview with an informed former diplomat and an Indian journalist who previously worked in the criminal justice system in Saudi Arabia.
The diplomat concluded that, from his experience, Indians interned in Saudi Arabia faced difficulties in court proceedings, particularly because of the language and the broad discretion of law enforcement under Islamic law. One of the journalists, on whose interview the study was based, confirmed that migrant workers are the most likely to be arrested in Saudi Arabia and that there are links between the conditions of migrant workers and the criminal justice system, and he also talked about malicious cases by employers. Although the embassy provides some support, it is not sufficient, as Indian immigrants languish in general prisons or deportation prisons for long periods.
The study indicated that Saudi Arabia is subject to uncodified Sharia law, which allows judges wide discretion in deciding punishment in criminal cases. Crimes punishable by death include apostasy, blasphemy, treason, espionage, murder, rape, terrorism, drug trafficking, armed robbery, adultery, sorcery, witchcraft, and homosexuality.
The study sought to collect data on Indians on death row and executed in the Middle East and North Africa region, to document their experiences on death row and the response of Indian embassies in such cases.
The study could not explore the data in depth about the experiences of Indians on death row in the Middle East, as no country, including Saudi Arabia, published data on execution cases, nor did the Indian government publish the information received by its embassies and consulates about them.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights believes that the study clearly shows the violations that expatriates of Indian nationality are exposed to, which confirms the organization's tracking that it applies widely to foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. It also considers that the discrepancy between the figures received from the Indian embassy in Riyadh and what was published by the Saudi Press Agency perpetuates concerns regarding the number of executions carried out in Saudi Arabia, as the number reported by the embassy is double the number monitored by the ESOHR according to data from the Ministry of Interior. European Saudi Organization had monitored the implementation of secret executions more than once in the past.
ESOHR notes that, in addition to the shortcomings revealed by the study concerning the criminal justice system in Saudi Arabia, the tracking of hundreds of death penalty cases, including those of migrant workers, confirms that there is a broad pattern of violations, including torture, ill-treatment and denial of the right to self-defence. ESOHR believes that any claim for reform that does not include disclosure of data and transparency in dealing with the file of detainees and those threatened with execution, especially foreigners, cannot be relied upon.