UAE Capital Punishment: Offenses, Appeals, and Execution Methods

Capital punishment in the UAE is reserved for a narrow set of serious crimes — chiefly premeditated murder, terrorism that causes death, large-scale drug trafficking, and acts against the state — and reaching an actual execution requires a unanimous panel of judges, an automatic appeal to the Court of Cassation, formal ratification by the President or the ruler of the emirate, and, in murder cases, the refusal of the victim’s family to accept a pardon or blood money. The framework sits in Federal Decree-Law No. 31 of 2021 (the Penal Code) and Federal Decree-Law No. 38 of 2022 (the Criminal Procedures Law), with Sharia principles governing crimes of retribution.¹²

Which Crimes Carry a Death Sentence

The 2021 Penal Code splits capital offenses between crimes punishable by retribution (qisas) and blood money (diya) under Sharia, and crimes carrying penalties set out in the statute itself.¹

Premeditated murder is the most commonly prosecuted capital offense. The prosecution must prove the killing was planned in advance, not merely that a violent act caused a death. Because murder is treated as a qisas crime, the victim’s heirs hold real power over the outcome; where the Sharia conditions for qisas are not met, the court applies the Penal Code penalties instead.

Treason, espionage, and other acts that threaten national security are death-eligible. Collaborating with a hostile foreign power, passing classified information, or working to undermine the government all fall within this category.

Terrorism offenses are governed by Federal Law No. 7 of 2014. When a terrorist act results in a death, the court can impose a death sentence, and the law reaches organizers, financiers, and those who incite as well as direct perpetrators.³

Drug offenses only draw the death penalty in specific aggravated circumstances. The Federal Decree-Law on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances separates personal use, which typically leads to rehabilitation or a prison term, from serious trafficking conduct. Execution is available when the offender traffics or promotes narcotics while belonging to a hostile group or organized gang, when a repeat offender is again convicted of trafficking, or when a law enforcement officer carrying out drug enforcement duties is killed.⁴

Several other crimes can carry the death penalty: rape resulting in the victim’s death, kidnapping resulting in death, and perjury or false testimony that leads to someone’s execution.

Unanimity and Mandatory Defense Counsel

A death sentence cannot be imposed by a split panel. Article 218 of the Criminal Procedures Law requires every judge on the panel to agree. A single dissent automatically drops the sentence to life imprisonment.² In practice, one skeptical judge can stop an execution.

A capital trial also cannot proceed without defense counsel. Under Article 4 of the 2022 law, a defendant charged with an offense punishable by death or life imprisonment who cannot afford a lawyer must be assigned one at the state’s expense.²

Automatic Appeal and Executive Ratification

Every death sentence is treated as an appeal in cassation under Article 253 of the 2022 law. The defendant does not have to file anything; the clerk transmits the file to the Court of Cassation, and execution is stayed while the appeal is pending. The cassation court can also appoint additional defense counsel if the defendant lacks a lawyer admitted at that level.²

Even after the highest court confirms the sentence, the execution still cannot proceed. The President of the UAE must formally ratify it, and in certain cases the ruler of the emirate where the crime occurred holds the authority to approve or block the execution. Without that signature the sentence remains indefinitely stayed, and many sentences simply sit at this stage.

The Victim’s Family Can Stop an Execution

For murder and other qisas crimes, the victim’s heirs hold a decision most legal systems do not grant to private parties: they can halt the execution. Under Sharia-based qisas, these cases are treated as matters between the heirs and the offender, with the state acting more as a referee than a party.

The family has three options:

Insist on execution, in which case the sentence moves forward through ratification.
Accept blood money (diya) in exchange for pardoning the offender. The standard diya is 200,000 AED (roughly $54,500 USD), though families frequently negotiate substantially higher sums depending on the circumstances.
Grant a full pardon without payment, which is less common.

Accepting diya or pardoning the offender commutes the death sentence, but it only resolves the private claim. The state can still impose a prison sentence for the public wrong. Courts and prosecutors supervise the negotiation to confirm that all rightful heirs agree and that no coercion is involved.¹

This mechanism is one of the main reasons the number of actual executions in the UAE stays low relative to the number of death sentences handed down. Families, mediators, and sometimes the state itself work toward a diya settlement, particularly where the defendant’s family or employer can raise the funds.

Pregnancy Postpones Execution

A pregnant woman sentenced to death cannot be executed. Her execution is postponed until after she gives birth and completes a breastfeeding period of two Hijri years, roughly 23 months. She remains imprisoned throughout, and the execution date is set only after that period ends. The provision reflects Sharia principles protecting unborn and nursing children.

How Executions Are Carried Out

When all appeals are exhausted and ratification is granted, the UAE carries out executions by firing squad. The squad reportedly consists of nine members, and at least one rifle is loaded with a blank cartridge so that no individual shooter knows with certainty that he fired a fatal round. Executions are conducted in private, with a representative of the public prosecution, a senior police official, the director of the correctional facility, and a physician present to confirm death and complete the legal documentation.

How Often Executions Actually Happen

Few people are executed in the UAE. Most death sentences are commuted to life imprisonment or resolved through diya. The country carried out three executions in 2025, none in 2024, and none in 2023. Extended gaps between executions are typical, and when one occurs it tends to involve a case where the crime was especially severe, every appeal has been exhausted, the family refused to pardon, and the executive branch granted ratification.

The rarity of executions does not mean the death penalty is dormant. The prospect of a capital sentence shapes plea negotiations, drives diya settlements, and gives the victim’s family real leverage in murder cases. For foreign nationals, who make up a large share of the UAE’s population, understanding both the statutory framework and the practical path these cases usually take is essential before relying on any assumption about outcomes.

1
United Arab Emirates Legislations. Federal Law by Decree Promulgating the Crimes and Penalties Law
2
United Arab Emirates Legislations. Federal Decree by Law No. 38 of 2022, Promulgating the Criminal Procedures Law
3
United Arab Emirates Legislation. Federal Law No. 7 of 2014 – Combating Terrorism Crimes
4
United Arab Emirates Legislations. Federal Decree by Law on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances