The Gulf and the Middle East
Somalis held: 27 on death rowSomali men on death row at Najran prison, Saudi Arabia, for drug offences as of June 2025, with at least 19 Somalis executed that year; some 40,000 Somalis were deported from Saudi Arabia in 2013–14 alone
The Gulf is where Somalis go to work and where they are most likely to be executed. Saudi Arabia has beheaded Somali men for smuggling hashish at a rate no other country approaches, while Saudi citizens are almost never sentenced to death for the same offence. Somalis are also detained for immigration offences and debt across Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, and deported in numbers rarely reported.
What is known
June 2025
At least 37 Ethiopian and 27 Somali men were on death row at Najran prison, south-western Saudi Arabia, for drug offences; 19 Somalis and seven Ethiopians had been publicly reported executed in 2025, all for "smuggling hashish", 12 Somalis in June alone. Saudi Arabia executed 154 named people by mid-June 2025, 98 of them for drug crimes, 69 of those foreign nationals — the largest group Somali. menarights.org
June 2025
Inmates at Najran told Middle East Eye they had been told to "say our goodbyes" after Eid al-Adha; one family said their son, arrested seven years earlier after entering through Yemen, was innocent. Nearly all drug executions in Saudi Arabia are of foreign nationals. middleeasteye.net
December 2013–August 2014
Saudi authorities summarily deported some 40,000 Somalis, many to parts of Somalia where their lives were at risk; deportees described beatings during detention and removal. globaldetentionproject.org
Standing
Migrants crossing from Yemen into Saudi Arabia, most of them Ethiopian and Somali, have been shot and killed by Saudi border forces. globaldetentionproject.org
Open questions
- Who are the 27 Somali men on death row at Najran — names, home regions, and whether their families in Somalia know?
- Did any of the 19 men executed in 2025 have a lawyer, an interpreter, or consular access?
- What has the Somali government said or done about its citizens being executed for non-lethal offences?
- How many Somalis are in Saudi immigration detention, and how many are deported each year?
Cases
| Date | Who | Country | What happened | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-06 | 27 Somali men on death row, Najran prison | Saudi Arabia (Gulf) | Sentenced to death for hashish smuggling; at least 19 Somalis executed in 2025, 12 in June; inmates told to 'say our goodbyes' after Eid al-Adha. | On death row; executions ongoing | menarights.org |
| 2013-12 | ~40,000 Somalis deported from Saudi Arabia | Saudi Arabia (Gulf) | Summarily deported between December 2013 and August 2014; deportees reported beatings during detention and removal. | Deported to Somalia | globaldetentionproject.org |
Answer one of these questions
If you were held in The Gulf and the Middle East, or you know someone who was, or you work in the system: give a testimony, pitch a piece, or WhatsApp OPR at +252 61 977 5580. In Somali or English. Named or not.