Saudi executions carried out on Saturday, October 17, 2026, put five Saudi nationals to death after they were convicted of terrorism-related offences, the kingdom’s interior ministry announced. The five men were found guilty of joining a foreign terrorist organisation, opening fire on security forces and providing support for terrorist operations inside the kingdom, according to the ministry’s statement.
The executions took place in the Eastern Province, the region that is home to most of Saudi Arabia’s Shia Muslim minority. The ministry said the men had been arrested, investigated, convicted by a competent court and sentenced to death, with the rulings later confirmed by the Supreme Court and implemented following a royal order. The ministry identified the crimes as joining an external terrorist organisation, shooting at security forces, security facilities and vehicles using weapons and bombs, possessing weapons and ammunition, and providing support for financing terrorist operations.
According to the statement, the security authorities arrested the men and completed investigations before referring them to the competent court. Opposition sources identified the executed men as Mohammed bin Munir al-Zahir, Ali bin Abdul Hussein al-Sheikh, Hassan bin Zaki al-Faraj, Reda bin Mohammed Al Bu Abdullah and Ali bin Hassan Al Rabah, who had spent several years behind bars, according to PressTV. The authorities did not identify the foreign organisation involved in the official announcement.
Saudi Executions Push 2026 Toll to 188
The executions bring the number of death sentences carried out in the kingdom this year to 188, according to a tally by AFP based on official statements. According to AFP, 15 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia this year following terrorism convictions, most of them in the Eastern Province. The figure compares with 40 executions for terrorism-related offences reported for the whole of 2025.
Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of executions in the world. Amnesty International reported that the kingdom executed at least 356 people in 2025, the highest annual figure the organisation had recorded for the country, with drug-related offences accounting for 240 of those executions. The rights organisation has repeatedly called on Saudi authorities to halt executions and move towards abolishing the death penalty.
Saudi Executions Draw Renewed Rights Scrutiny
Human rights groups have long criticised the kingdom’s use of capital punishment, particularly in terrorism cases from the Eastern Province, where the Shia community has complained of marginalisation in the Sunni-majority country. Critics argue that terrorism charges have been applied broadly, while the Saudi government maintains that capital punishment is necessary to preserve public order and says executions are carried out after the appeals process has been exhausted.
The Eastern Province has repeatedly featured in the geography of terrorism-related executions, and Saturday’s announcement follows a pattern of capital cases concentrated in the region. Earlier this week, two Bangladeshi nationals were also executed for alleged offences inside a Mecca mosque, according to news reports, underscoring the pace at which death sentences are being implemented.
The announcement was carried by state-linked outlets including Al Arabiya English and Arab News. In its statement, the ministry cited Quranic verses condemning corruption and violence, and said the men had been provided with support and safe houses to finance and carry out terrorist operations in Saudi Arabia.
With 188 executions recorded so far this year, the kingdom continues to record one of the highest rates of capital punishment in the world, drawing sustained criticism from rights organisations that argue the death penalty is applied in cases where fair-trial standards are in doubt.
Saudi Executions: A Pattern Under the Spotlight
With 188 executions in less than ten months, 2026 is on course to rival or exceed the record figures of recent years. These executions form part of a wider pattern of capital punishment that international observers say shows no sign of slowing. For the families of the five men, the ministry’s announcement closed cases that had stretched over years of detention; for the kingdom’s critics, it opened another chapter in the debate over justice and the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.