520 Ethiopians sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia on drug charges

Saudi authorities plan to execute approximately 520 Ethiopians convicted of drug trafficking, according to the Tigray regional government. A Tigray official stated that most were tried without a lawyer or interpreter, and Ethiopia has called on Riyadh to show clemency.

Saudi authorities plan to execute approximately 520 Ethiopians convicted of drug trafficking, according to the Tigray regional government in northern Ethiopia, announced Thursday. Haish Sibagadis, head of the regional government's youth affairs office, said most of the convicts are from Tigray, explaining that they were either deceived by middlemen and drawn into trafficking operations, or simply accompanying people carrying drugs. He added that most were tried without a lawyer, in a language they did not understand, and without an interpreter. Riyadh had announced the execution of two Ethiopians on drug trafficking charges on Wednesday, following the execution of five others on the same charge a week earlier. This followed the execution of five Ethiopians in June and three in July. In 2024, the number of Ethiopians executed in Saudi Arabia reached 34, according to an estimate based on official data. Ethiopia, which maintains good relations with Saudi Arabia, has called on Riyadh to show clemency and spare their lives. Thousands of Ethiopians work in Saudi Arabia, most taking a perilous migration route from the Horn of Africa to the kingdom via the Red Sea and Yemen.