Saudi Arabia is executing or planning to execute dozens of Somali men in a “relentless killing spree” targeting foreign workers accused of drug-related offences, as detailed in a new report by Amnesty International.

According to the report, at least 44 Somalis are on death row in Najran prison for drug charges following trials involving torture, forced confessions, and no access to lawyers or interpreters.

The report further states that between January and May 2025, Saudi Arabia executed 52 people accused of drug-related crimes, including Somali national Mohamed Nur Hussein, who was executed on February 16 for allegedly smuggling hashish.

Last month alone, 46 were executed – 37 for drugs, including Somalis. Amnesty says that nearly 75 per cent of people executed for drug crimes since 2014 were foreign workers from countries like Somalia, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Jordan.

Amnesty has reported severe injustices including lack of access to lawyers, charges not explained in their language, and torture-based confessions. Consular assistance has also been absent. The human rights body is demanding a halt to executions, commuting sentences, fair trials, and respect for human rights law.

Saudi Arabia promised to stop executing for non-violent drug crimes in 2021 but reversed the decision in 2022. By 2024, it had carried out 345 executions, 122 for drug offenses. Somali families say they weren’t warned before executions and weren’t allowed to bury their loved ones.

Human rights groups warn of an increasing humanitarian crisis in Saudi jails. But despite growing outrage and desperate pleas, Somalia’s government was largely silent, offering little help or pressure.

The critics contend Somali authorities have abandoned their citizens to a judiciary system marked by secret trials, torture, forced confessions, and no legal or consular aid. Dozens spend years on death row with little hope.

The kafala system enables employers to control foreign workers’ legal status. This encourages exploitation in the form of confiscating passports, withholding salaries, and ill-treating employees.

Numerous workers are jailed in congested prisons, beaten up, deprived of medical care, and, in a few cases, deported—into danger zones.

The Somali migrants are disproportionately affected by extreme discrimination and are especially vulnerable. Human rights groups clarify that the rise in executions after unfair trials indicates Saudi Arabia’s non-respect for migrant lives.