2023: A Year in Review

As 2023 comes to an end, it should be noted that Saudi Arabia has stepped up human rights violations over the year. Here is a review of the most prominent violations that were carried out over the course of the year.

Secret executions

Early in 2023, Saudi Arabia carried out secret executions against national and non-national citizens, including Yemeni and Jordanian citizens.

There is no official data about the executions carried out by the authorities over the year. However, rights sources affirmed that 61 executions were carried out during the first half of the year, all of which were carried out in three months.

In April, Saudi Arabia announced the first execution during the holy month of Ramadan in a dangerous precedent, raising serious concerns over the lives of all detainees sentenced to death.

Harsh prison sentences

The death sentence against Muhammad Al-Ghamdi over social media posts and the decades-old sentences against female activists both demonstrated a sharp rise against freedom of expression in 2023.

Violation of freedom of expression

Saudi authorities imposed tight restrictions on freedom of speech in 2023. This includes the arbitrary arrest of social media activists, banning any form of online support for the Palestinian cause, and the arbitrary arrest of pilgrims for making Duaa to the Gaza Strip.

Forced disappearance

Enforced disappearance is one of the most notable human rights abuses committed by the Saudi government on a regular basis. However, 2023 revealed a growing pattern of abuses against detainees who were set to be released, most notably human rights advocates Issa Al-Nakfi and Muhammad Al-Qahtani.