Saudi Arabia executed a record-breaking 356 people in 2025, according to an AFP tally, marking the highest number of inmates put to death in the kingdom within a single year.

Analysts suggest this surge is largely driven by Riyadh’s ongoing "war on drugs," as many individuals arrested in recent years are now reaching the end of their legal proceedings. Official government data indicates that 243 of these executions were related to narcotics offenses.

This latest figure surpasses the previous record of 338 executions set in 2024. Rights advocates, including Duaa Dhainy of the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, have criticized the numbers as evidence that promised human rights reforms lack substance.

Dhainy noted that the executions create an atmosphere of intimidation affecting migrant workers, minors, and political dissidents alike. Notably, 2025 also marked the first time more foreigners were executed in the kingdom than Saudi nationals.

The kingdom resumed the death penalty for drug offenses in late 2022 following a three-year hiatus. As the Arab world's largest economy, Saudi Arabia remains a primary market for captagon, an illicit stimulant formerly exported in massive quantities from Syria under the now-deposed Bashar al-Assad.

Since intensifying its anti-drug campaign, Riyadh has significantly increased highway checkpoints and border security, leading to the seizure of millions of pills.

The continued use of capital punishment has drawn sustained international criticism, with activists arguing it contradicts the modern, tolerant image promoted by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030.

While the kingdom invests heavily in tourism and global sports—including the 2034 FIFA World Cup—rights groups like Amnesty International argue that these executions undermine efforts to diversify and open the country.

In response, Saudi authorities maintain that the death penalty is a necessary tool for public order, used only after all legal appeals are exhausted.

Source: AFP