Advocacy Organizations Denounce New Record in Executions in the Kingdom

The Kingdom has broken its prior execution tally for the number of executions for a second year running.

No fewer than 347 individuals have been executed so far this year, per data from a UK-based campaign group that monitors such proceedings.

This figure is higher than the total of 345 recorded in 2024, marking what the group calls the "most lethal year of executions in the kingdom since monitoring began."

The most recent cases carried out were two individuals from Pakistan found guilty on illegal substance violations.

Details on the Executions

Additional individuals executed comprised a reporter and two youths who were children at the time of their alleged acts connected to dissent.

Five of those were women. However, per the monitoring group, the majority—approximately two-thirds—were found guilty for non-violent substance violations.

International bodies have declared that applying the death penalty for such offences is "violates international law and principles."

Over 50% of those executed were foreign nationals, ensnared in what appears to be a "campaign against narcotics" within the kingdom.

"The kingdom is functioning with total disregard now," said a representative of the monitoring group. "It's almost making a mockery of the global justice mechanism."

The official further characterized extracted statements through mistreatment as "systemic" within the Saudi legal framework, calling it a "brutal and arbitrary crackdown."

Personal Accounts

Among those put to death this week was a young Egyptian fisherman, taken into custody in 2021. He is said to have claimed he was forced into carrying illegal substances.

Family members of men on death row for drug charges have described the "fear" they now live in.

"The single occasion of the week that I sleep is on those two days because there are no death sentences carried out on those days," one relative stated.

Fellow inmates have allegedly witnessed individuals they lived alongside for years being "taken in protest to their death."

Wider Backdrop

The de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, who became crown prince in 2017, has presided over significant societal reforms, loosening some restrictions while simultaneously cracking down on dissent.

Even as the country has opened up in a bid to move away from oil dependency, its human rights record remains "abysmal" according to rights groups.

"No price has been paid for going ahead with these executions," said a expert focusing on the region. "High-profile activities continue with little backlash."

Allegations suggest families of the condemned are often not informed in advance, denied the bodies, and left unaware of where they are interred.

Global Condemnation

A global human rights official has urged an immediate moratorium on executions in Saudi Arabia, advocating for eventual an end to the practice.

The official also stressed the need for "full compliance with international protections," including legal assistance and consular access for detainees from abroad.

Particular executions have drawn particular ire, including those of individuals who were under the age of majority at the time of their alleged crimes and a journalist executed on terrorism and treason charges.

"Capital punishment against members of the press is a frightening blow on free speech," declared a international agency head.

In a official communication to raised allegations, Saudi authorities have asserted that the country "safeguards human rights" and that its laws "prohibit and punish torture."

The letter continued that the ultimate sentence is used exclusively for the "gravest offences" and after concluding all legal processes.