Capital punishment in the United Arab Emirates

Capital punishment is a legal penalty in the United Arab Emirates. Under Emirati law, multiple crimes carry the death penalty, and executions are required to be carried out by firing squad, the sole legal method. The law allows the death penalty for: premeditated murder and, in certain circumstances, for some other forms of culpable homicide; some forms of rape, including of a minor (penetrative child sexual abuse), or disabled person; and particular offences against internal and external state security in a time of war, or in other special circumstances.

Sentences of capital punishment are infrequently carried out, usually being commuted, albeit to lengthy terms of imprisonment. Both UAE nationals and non-Emiratis have been executed for crimes. As of 2025, the last known executions is said to have occurred in February and March 2025.

Following an amendment to the Federal Penal Code in 2020, stoning ceased to be a legal method for carrying out executions. Before the amendment, stoning was the official method of execution for adultery. Several people were sentenced to death by stoning; such sentences were rare, and often commuted or overturned.

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