RIYADH, June 4 — Saudi Arabia executed four young Somali men convicted of smuggling hashish into the kingdom, the Ministry of Interior announced on Tuesday, June 3.
The four — identified as Mohamed Badal Adam Farah, Abdinuur Ahmed Yassin, Mohamed Awil Ahmed Ali, and Abdirahman Hassan Mohamed — were put to death at a prison in Najran, in the southwest of Saudi Arabia.
The executions bring to five the number of Somali nationals put to death in the kingdom this year on drug-related charges. In February, another Somali, Mohamed Nur Hussein Gacal, was executed for similar offenses. Nearly 50 Somali detainees have faced drug smuggling allegations in Saudi Arabia over recent years.
Other Somali prisoners have appealed to the Somali government for intervention, warning that five of their compatriots have been executed within five months, with many more facing death sentences.
Relatives of the executed men say some of the youths entered Saudi Arabia through Yemen after being deceived into carrying drugs. They accuse Saudi authorities of conducting unfair trials without proper legal representation.
Saudi Arabia enforces one of the world’s strictest legal systems, regularly imposing the death penalty for drug trafficking, murder, and terrorism-related offenses.
The Ministry of Interior said the executions underscore the government’s firm stance against drug trafficking and violent crime, warning that harsh penalties await offenders.
So far in 2024, Saudi Arabia has executed over 300 people, mostly convicted of drug-related and other serious crimes.
Somali prisoners still held in Saudi Arabia have urged the Somali government to step in to reduce death sentences, citing claims of being coerced or framed.
The Somali government has stated it is taking measures to assist its citizens facing the death penalty abroad, but recent executions highlight the limited success of such efforts.
