Saudi Arabia carries out first death penalty of year as man executed on terrorism charge

Authorities in the kingdom executed at least 170 people in 2023

Saudi Arabia has carried out its first death penalty this year after executing a citizen convicted of terrorist acts in the country’s Eastern Province.

The kingdom’s Ministry of Interior said it executed Aoun Al Abu Abdullah on Tuesday.

“Aoun bin Hassan bin Radhi Al Abu Abdullah, a Saudi national, committed terrorist acts by joining a terrorist cell that seeks to disrupt the security of the kingdom, destabilise the security of society and the stability of the state, and target security personnel with the intention of killing them,” the ministry said.

Al Abu Abdullah was charged with manufacturing explosives and delivering them to wanted persons, with the intention that they be used for terrorist acts.

Authorities in Saudi Arabia executed at least 170 people in 2023, mostly on terrorism and drug-related charges.

The last executions took place on December 31, including two in Tabuk, one in Riyadh and one in Jizan.

The Interior Ministry said 38 people were executed in December, the highest in a month, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

Out of the 170 cases in which the death penalty was carried out, 33 people were executed for terrorism-related crimes while two soldiers were executed for treason.