Somalia urges Saudi Arabia to release citizens facing execution for drug trafficking
Source: Hiiraan Online, Saturday April 19, 2025
Mogadishu (HOL) — The Somali government has launched formal talks with Saudi authorities to secure the release or repatriation of more than 100 Somali nationals imprisoned in Saudi Arabia, including dozens facing death sentences for drug trafficking.
Somalia’s Consul General in Jeddah, Abdiweli Hirsi Abdille, confirmed that most of the prisoners had been held in the southern province of Najran for six to eight years. He said 58 have already been sentenced—some to death—while 57 others are currently on trial. Nine remain in custody without formal charges.
The talks follow growing concern among Somali families after Saudi Arabia carried out an execution of a Somali national earlier this year. Reports of similar executions involving Yemeni and Ethiopian detainees have intensified calls for diplomatic intervention.“Somalia and Saudi Arabia have held multiple discussions on possible release or repatriation,” Abdille said. “Although progress has been limited, we remain hopeful.”
Abdille recently visited the detention facilities and met with Najran’s regional governor, Prince Jalami bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and senior prison officials. He said the detainees are in stable health but have raised unresolved concerns.
“When I spoke with the prisoners, they told me they had learned a great deal during their time in detention, particularly in religious studies,” Abdille said. “They requested a Somali-speaking teacher, and the prison agreed to provide one fluent in both Somali and Arabic.”
Human rights groups say Saudi Arabia continues to impose capital punishment for non-violent drug offences despite earlier promises to scale back executions. According to Amnesty International, the kingdom executed at least 198 people in 2024, averaging one execution every two days.
Saudi Arabia has one of the world’s highest execution rates, a trend that has accelerated since King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman assumed power in 2015.
Family members of the Somali prisoners say many were lured into drug trafficking after entering Saudi Arabia through Yemen. Some claim they were promised large payments for smuggling pills and hashish across the border.
“Given their desperate circumstances, they were manipulated into carrying drugs,” said Abdirahman Mohamed Abdiweli, whose relative is among the detainees.
Though discussions between the two countries have occurred for years, no detainees have been released under these negotiations. Somalia’s foreign ministry says it will continue to pursue every available diplomatic channel to bring its citizens home.
- With files from the BBC Somali Service