Three Church of England bishops have appealed directly to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to stop the execution of Ethiopian nationals.
The Bishop of Chelmsford, Dr Guli Francis-Dehqani, joined the Bishop of Southwark, Christopher Chessun, and the Bishop of Winchester, Philip Mounstephen, in calling for an immediate moratorium on executions at Khamis Mushait Prison.
They said that most of the Ethiopian prisoners identify as Ethiopian Orthodox Christians, which makes them additionally vulnerable to mistreatment.
In their letter, the bishops told the Crown Prince that the cases appeared to involve “profound religious discrimination” as they urged him to commute the death sentences to imprisonment and conduct an independent review into their convictions.
The letter was copied to Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, as well as the Saudi and Ethiopian ambassadors to the UK.
The bishops understand that at least 58 Ethiopians are facing execution at Khamis Mushait Prison over drug charges.
The letter claims that many of them were coerced and exploited after fleeing conflict and instability in their own country.
"The circumstances of their arrests strongly indicate that many were victims of trafficking or criminal exploitation, coerced into transporting goods across the Saudi-Yemeni border without full knowledge of their contents," they said.
The bishops also alleged that the prisoners had been denied adequate legal representation and interpretation, while some had been tortured and forced to sign documents they could not understand.
Several prisoners, they said, had reported being assaulted by police officers after crosses were discovered around their necks while they were being transported to court.
Inside the prison, it was reported that Christian worship and the display of religious symbols was discouraged or prohibited.
“The open expression of Christian belief has reportedly been discouraged or prohibited within the prison, and prisoners have been expected not to display Christian religious symbols or make reference to their faith in court. This treatment is deeply troubling," the letter reads.
“The right to hold, practise and express one’s religious faith, including within a prison setting, is a fundamental right recognised under international law. We urge Your Royal Highness to ensure that it is upheld.”
The bishops said that “the treatment of faith as a source of vulnerability and an instrument of further persecution” was incompatible with a previous commitment from the Crown Prince to encourage interfaith dialogue and the flourishing of different faiths.
They said they were "gravely concerned" to learn of the reported execution of five Ethiopian prisoners on 23 June, despite assurances allegedly being given to Ethiopian officials that their executions would be suspended while the cases were reviewed.
According to the letter, some of the prisoners were told they were being taken to court or to procedural hearings, only to be executed hours later.
“Their families were not notified in advance and have since received no information about the whereabouts of their remains. In some cases, the burden of notifying the families was left to the other prisoners," the bishops said.
The letter called on the Crown Prince to investigate the circumstances surrounding the executions and ensure that the families receive information about the remains.
Since the letter was sent, a further five Ethiopian migrants were executed in Saudi Arabia on 27 July for drug-related offences, according to Human Rights Watch.
The organisation said at least 17 Ethiopians had been executed on drug charges since the beginning of 2026 and that at least 79 others faced an imminent risk of execution.
The bishops acknowledged Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty over its legal system but said they could not “in conscience remain silent”.
“We do not write to lecture, but to appeal,” they said. “We ask Your Royal Highness to act now to prevent further irreversible harm.”
Saudi authorities have maintained that those executed were convicted of smuggling drugs and that the sentences were upheld through the kingdom’s judicial process. However, the United Nations has repeatedly stated that drug offences do not meet the threshold for capital punishment.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The UK strongly opposes the death penalty in all countries and in all circumstances.
“Saudi Arabia is well aware of the UK’s opposition to the death penalty. We raise our concerns about the penalty with the Saudi authorities using a range of diplomatic channels.”
