Saudi authorities on Tuesday executed seven people, bringing the total number of people executed in the kingdom this year to 100, according to an AFP tally based on official announcements.
Five of those executed on Tuesday were convicted on drug trafficking charges, bringing to 65 the number of those executed over drug-related offences, 43 of them foreigners, according to the tally of interior ministry figures.
On Monday, Amnesty International condemned “a grim milestone exposing the authorities’ unconscionable and unlawful use of the death penalty”.
“Foreign nationals have borne the brunt of Saudi Arabia’s ruthless use of the death penalty for drug-related offences, frequently after grossly unfair trials,” the London-based rights group said.
“It is profoundly alarming that at least 63 Ethiopian nationals, held in a single ward of Khamis Mushait detention facility in south-west Saudi Arabia, may be at imminent risk of execution solely for drug-related offences,” it added.
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