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Saudi Arabia carried out eight executions in a single day, state media confirmed, highlighting a sharp rise in the kingdom’s use of capital punishment, particularly for drug-related offences.
According to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), four Somali nationals and three Ethiopians were executed on Saturday in the southern Najran region after being convicted of smuggling hashish into the country. A Saudi man was also executed after being found guilty of murdering his mother.
This brings the total number of executions in Saudi Arabia so far in 2025 to 230, based on an AFP tally of official announcements. Of these, 154 were related to drug offences.
If this pace continues, the country is likely to exceed its 2024 total of 338 executions — the highest annual figure recorded to date.
Observers link the increase to Saudi Arabia’s intensified anti-drug campaign, which began in 2023. Many of the individuals now being executed were reportedly arrested in the early stages of that campaign and have since exhausted their legal appeals.
The kingdom reinstated capital punishment for drug-related crimes at the end of 2022, following a temporary moratorium that lasted around three years. According to AFP data, Saudi Arabia executed 19 people in 2022, two in 2023, and 117 in 2024 for offences involving narcotics.
Rights advocates argue that the ongoing use of the death penalty contradicts the image of modernisation and reform promoted under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 initiative.
Saudi officials maintain that capital punishment remains a necessary tool for preserving public order and is applied only after all legal procedures, including appeals, have been exhausted.
