Saudi Arabia executes 5 Ethiopians over drug-related charges, rights group says

Human Rights Watch says Saudi Arabia executed five Ethiopians this week on drug-related charges after a trial that allegedly lacked due processADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Five Ethiopians were executed in Saudi Arabia this week on drug-related charges following a trial that allegedly did not follow due process and lasted a few minutes without a translator, according to Human Rights Watch.The rights organization said Tuesday at least 79 other Ethiopians remain at imminent risk of execution on similar charges. It cited the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, which said at least 116 people have been executed this year.Human Rights Watch said the five were charged with possessing hashish, a type of cannabis.“Saudi authorities are executing marginalized Ethiopian migrants after court hearings that sometimes barely last a few minutes without a lawyer or a translator,” said Joey Shea, senior Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch. Many Ethiopians migrate to Gulf countries in search of work.“Dozens of vulnerable migrants remain at risk of imminent execution after trials that were barely trials at all, in a system that treats their lives as disposable,” she said.There was no im...