Saudi Arabia has carried out its largest group execution this year, putting to death five people convicted of a terrorist attack on a Shia Imambargah (house of worship). State media reports that the attack occurred nine years ago at the Imam Hussain mosque in the city of Dammam, located in the eastern province of Qatif, where most of Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority and oil resources are concentrated. The assault claimed the lives of five individuals and left over ten others injured.
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The convicts, consisting of four Saudis and one Egyptian national, were identified as Ahmed bin Muhammad Asiri, Nessar bin Abdullah Al-Mousa, Hamad bin Abdullah Al-Mousa, Abdullah bin Abdul-Rahman Al-Tuwaijri, and Talha Hisham Muhammad Abdo. The Egyptian, Abdo, who had connections with a terrorist organization, faced additional charges for firing at security forces and attempting a suicide bombing. Three of the Saudi convicts, Ahmed, Nessar, and Hamad, were found guilty of affiliations with the same terrorist group. The fifth convict, Abdullah, was implicated in covering up the operation without alerting security authorities.
Special courts handed down the death penalty for each individual, with one man being beheaded and the others executed by alternative means. The executions took place in the Eastern Province, according to the Saudi Gazette. The terrorist group ISIS had claimed responsibility for the attack, although Saudi authorities have not commented on any direct links between the executed individuals and ISIS.
These recent executions bring the total number of individuals put to death in Saudi Arabia to 68 so far, drawing criticism from rights groups who oppose the country’s frequent use of capital punishment. Since early May, over 20 executions have been carried out for terrorism-related offenses, predominantly in the eastern province. In 2022, Saudi Arabia executed 147 people, more than double the figure from the previous year. The spike in executions included 81 individuals executed on a single day in March, prompting international outcry.
According to a report by Reprieve and the European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights, more than 1,000 death sentences have been carried out in Saudi Arabia since 2015. This surge in executions coincides with Saudi Arabia’s efforts to improve its international image through comprehensive social and economic reforms as part of the “Vision 2030” agenda, which aims to modernize the country.
