The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention has concluded that the executions of two Egyptian nationals in Saudi Arabia on drug-related charges were carried out in circumstances that violated international human rights standards, and called on Riyadh to provide reparations and change its laws to prevent the death penalty from being applied for such offences.
According to a U.N. document reviewed by Reuters, the men were identified as Farhat Fathi Abdel Maksoud Abu al-Saud and Mohamed Kamel Salah Kamel, who had been working in Saudi Arabia as a driver and a carpenter, respectively. The Working Group examined their cases and determined that both men had been detained without a legal basis and that their rights to a fair trial had been infringed.
In its published finding, the five-member Working Group stated: "The Working Group considers that their death sentences are indefensible and the execution thereof inexcusable." The panel said that carrying out the death sentences breached Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which protects the right to life.
The Geneva-based U.N. body, which is mandated by the Human Rights Council to investigate individual cases of deprivation of liberty, has requested that Saudi Arabia compensate the families of the two men and return their remains. It also noted that the volume of alleged human rights violations could point to a broader pattern of arbitrary detention in the kingdom and urged Saudi authorities to re-implement a moratorium on the death penalty for drug-related offences.
Saudi authorities responded to queries from the U.N. Working Group by denying that any violations had occurred, according to the document. The kingdom said the men had been treated with dignity and had received a fair and public hearing. The reply added: "Saudi law imposes the death penalty only for the most serious crimes, based on the belief that the right to life is the most fundamental of rights," and that Saudi Arabia regarded drug crimes as no less serious than murder.
Human rights advocates have raised concerns that Saudi Arabia has sharply increased the use of capital punishment in recent years, particularly against foreign nationals and for drug offences. The Working Group highlighted that the country lifted a moratorium on the death penalty for drug-related crimes in 2022, a change that critics say has coincided with a rise in executions.
It was not clear from the filings how the two Egyptians were executed in this instance. Rights groups have previously said that executions in Saudi Arabia have generally been carried out by beheading.
Falah Sayed, a senior legal officer at MENA Rights Group which submitted the case to the U.N. panel, told Reuters that the two executions are part of a larger group of mostly foreign nationals currently awaiting execution on drug-related charges. He said the Working Group's finding could add pressure on Saudi authorities to commute sentences for those at risk.
The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention does not possess an enforcement mechanism. Nevertheless, its determinations are frequently cited in legal proceedings and have in many cases contributed to the release of detainees covered by its decisions.
Context and implications
The Working Group's formal finding underscores the tension between the Saudi government's stated legal framework and international human rights bodies' assessments. The panel's call for compensation and the return of remains is a concrete demand, while its recommendation to reintroduce a moratorium on capital punishment for drug crimes is a policy-level appeal aimed at preventing similar cases in the future.