UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention condemns executions of Egyptian nationals for drug-related crimes in Saudi Arabia

Intro text: The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention issued an Opinion finding that the detention and death sentences of three Egyptian nationals by Saudi authorities for drug-related crimes was arbitrary and that their subsequent executions amounted to an arbitrary deprivation of life.

The UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (UN WGAD) has published its Opinion concerning three Egyptian nationals,Mr E, Farhat Abu al-Saud, and Mohamed Kamel, who were detained in Saudi Arabia on drug-related charges and sentenced to death. The UN WGAD found that their deprivation of liberty was arbitrary and in violation of international human rights law. It called for compensation and reparations to be granted to the families of al-Saud and Kamel.

The three men were arrested and charged in Saudi Arabia between 2014 and 2021 for drug-related crimes, and were later sentenced to death under article 37(1) of the Act on the Control of Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances. Al-Saud and Kamel were executed on May 25, 2025 and June 25, 2025, respectively.

Prompted by a request for Opinion submitted by MENA Rights Group, the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), ALQST for Human Rights, Sinai Foundation and the Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC), the UN WGAD, found the deprivation of liberty of the three men to be arbitrary on multiple grounds.

Most notably, the UN WGAD found that the death penalty “cannot be considered a proportionate punishment for non-violent drug offences”, clarifying that it “fails to satisfy the principles of legality and proportionality of criminal offences and penalties.” The UN WGAD stressed that the death penalty should only be imposed for the “most serious crimes”, which have consistently been interpreted as including only crimes of extreme gravity, involving intentional killing. Accordingly, drug-related offences that do not involve intentional homicide clearly fall outside this threshold.

In line with this finding, the UN WGAD urged the Saudi government to reinstate a moratorium on the death penalty for drug-related offences and to ensure that capital punishment is not imposed for crimes that do not meet the threshold for the most serious crimes. Executions in Saudi Arabia have surged in recent years, especially for drug-related offences, with foreign nationals accounting for the vast majority. In 2025, a record 356 people were executed, including 240 for drug-related crimes, of whom 188 were foreign nationals. Many remain at imminent risk of execution.

In addition, the UN WGAD found that the deprivation of liberty of the three men was arbitrary and in violation of articles 2 and 7 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), as they were deprived of their liberty on discriminatory grounds, based on their foreign nationality. The UN WGAD expressed concern over the systematic denial of procedural safeguards experienced by foreign nationals in Saudi Arabia, noting that this may account for the staggering overrepresentation of foreign nationals in the death row inmate population, especially for drug-related offences.

Furthermore, the UN WGAD found numerous violations of the right to a fair trial and due process during the men’s detention and trial, including periods of incommunicado detention, resulting in breaches of the UDHR and the UN Convention against Torture. Notably, the three men were not given access to legal counsel at all stages of their detention and were subjected to physical and psychological torture to extract confessions. 

Accordingly, the UN WGAD found that the death sentences imposed on the three men were “indefensible” and that the executions of al-Saud and Kamel were “inexcusable”. 

The UN WGAD now awaits a response from Saudi authorities regarding the steps taken to implement the relevant recommendations.

MENA Rights Group and its partners welcome the UN WGAD’s Opinion. “The UN WGAD has made clear what we have long documented: Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty for drug-related offences is incompatible with international human rights law,” says Falah Sayed, Senior Legal Officer and Advocacy Lead at MENA Rights Group.

Jeed Basyouni, Reprieve's head of death penalty for the Middle East and North Africa, notes that: "Executions have increased fivefold under Mohammed bin Salman's rule. Having falsely promised to 'minimise' the use of capital punishment, his regime executes child defendants, alleged drug offenders, and people whose only “crime” was to call for democratic freedoms. Foreign nationals are at especially high risk, making up more than half of last year's horrific record total of 356 executions – many such cases involve people trafficked to Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom's international and corporate partners have mostly stayed silent about this horror until now. How many more must be killed before they speak out and call for an end to this execution crisis?"