Ethiopian migrants on Saudi Arabia’s death row, facing execution for jobs that led to death sentences

Dozens of Ethiopian migrants in Saudi Arabia are reportedly facing imminent execution, having been sentenced to death primarily for non-lethal drug-related offenses, such as transporting khat. Many of these individuals are refugees who fled the 2020-2022 conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region, seeking employment in Saudi Arabia after undertaking perilous journeys through Yemen. Human rights organizations, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, have raised serious concerns about severe due process violations during their trials, citing issues like brief group hearings, absence of interpreters, coerced signing of Arabic documents without comprehension, and lack of legal representation.

Several Ethiopian nationals have already been executed this year, with reports indicating over 200 remain on death row, and at least 60 to 65 are at immediate risk. Many migrants claim they were unaware that khat, a stimulant legal in parts of Ethiopia and Yemen, is strictly prohibited in Saudi Arabia, with some even alleging they were forced by traffickers to carry the substance.

Ethiopian Catholic Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin and various human rights groups are urgently appealing for international intervention to halt these executions. They advocate for the commutation of existing death sentences and a moratorium on capital punishment for non-violent drug offenses, highlighting that these sentences often follow deeply unfair trials and disregard international human rights standards.