19 February 2025 :
The news came with chilling finality: Mohamed Nur Hussein, a Somali man imprisoned for seven years in Saudi Arabia, had been executed on February 16. His family, who had spoken to him only a day earlier, were left in shock.
Saudi authorities say Hussein was a drug smuggler, arrested in Najran province for trafficking hashish. The death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court and signed off by King Salman, according to the Saudi Ministry of Interior.
In a statement, the ministry declared that the execution was part of Saudi Arabia’s strict anti-drug policy, meant to serve as a deterrent. But for Hussein’s family, it was a cruel and unjustified killing.
Leyla Mahmud Ahmed, Hussein’s sister, learned of his execution from a fellow inmate.
“We just spoke to him. He told us he had hope. He said he would be freed soon,” she told the BBC, her voice breaking.
Her disbelief quickly turned to anger.
“No one should be put to death for this. What kind of justice is this?” she asked.
Hussein had lived in Yemen for over a decade before moving to Saudi Arabia, where he was later arrested. During his imprisonment, he remained in regular contact with his family, reassuring them that he would be released.
Ahmed confirmed that her brother admitted to the charges but insisted that a death sentence was too severe.
“This is not justice,” she said. “Mohamed had five children who will now grow up without their father.”
Saudi Arabia enforces some of the world’s harshest penalties for drug-related crimes, including public beheadings.
The number of executions in the kingdom has surged since 2015, the year King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, took power.
A recent Amnesty International report confirmed that at least 198 people were executed in Saudi Arabia in 2024, marking one of the highest execution rates in recent years.
Despite repeated assurances that the kingdom would scale back its use of the death penalty, the reality has been starkly different. Executions for drug-related offences have increased, with the kingdom now averaging one execution every two days, the rights group reported.
Hussein’s case is not an isolated one. The Somali consulate in Jeddah has confirmed that dozens of Somali nationals are on death row in Saudi Arabia, mostly for drug-related offences.
Somali Consul Ahmed Mahmoud Diriye (Macaruuf) told the BBC that his office had identified between 45 and 50 Somali detainees, most of them arrested near the Saudi-Yemen border.
While Somalia’s foreign ministry has lobbied for clemency, executions have continued.
“We explained to Saudi officials that some detainees were unaware of the full legal consequences, while others were coerced into smuggling drugs,” Macaruuf said.
The Somali government has urged Saudi authorities to commute sentences, but so far, its efforts have yielded little success.
With more Somali nationals facing execution, activists and families are demanding more decisive diplomatic action.
For Hussein’s family, the grief is unbearable. His children will never see him again. His sister will forever remember his final words of hope, only for him to be led to his death hours later.
