Saudi Arabia has set a new record for executions in a single year after putting three people to death on Monday, bringing the total number of executions carried out in 2025 to 340, according to an AFP tally.
The latest executions were announced in a statement by the Interior Ministry carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, which said the three individuals were executed in the Mecca region after being convicted of murder. The deaths push the kingdom past its previous annual high of 338 executions recorded in 2024.
AFP’s count shows that Saudi Arabia has now broken its own execution record for the second consecutive year, continuing a trend that rights groups have been tracking since the 1990s. The kingdom remains one of the world’s most prolific users of capital punishment, trailing only China and Iran in recent years.
Of the 340 executions recorded so far in 2025, 232 were linked to drug-related offences, making up the majority of cases, based on announcements by the Interior Ministry and the Saudi Press Agency. Analysts have largely attributed the surge to the government’s intensified “war on drugs”, which was launched in 2023.
Many of those now being executed were arrested in the early stages of the campaign and have since gone through legal proceedings that culminated in convictions and death sentences. Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offences at the end of 2022 after a suspension of about three years.
The renewed crackdown comes amid growing concern over the flow of captagon, an illicit stimulant that the United Nations has described as Syria’s largest export during the rule of Bashar al-Assad, who was ousted last year. Saudi Arabia is considered one of the largest markets for the drug in the Arab world.
Since the launch of the anti-drug campaign, authorities have stepped up police checkpoints on highways and at border crossings, leading to the seizure of millions of pills and the arrest of dozens of suspected traffickers. Rights groups say foreign nationals have been disproportionately affected by the executions linked to drug cases.
Saudi Arabia relies heavily on millions of foreign workers for major infrastructure projects, domestic work and its expanding hospitality sector. Critics argue that this reliance has not translated into leniency in the criminal justice system for non-citizens.
“These are not violent criminals, and most are foreign nationals. Executing them is against international law mandating that the death penalty only be used for intentional homicide,” said Harriet McCulloch of the Reprieve rights group.
The kingdom has faced sustained criticism over its use of the death penalty, which campaigners say sits uneasily with efforts to project a modern and reform-minded image under the Vision 2030 agenda championed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Activists argue that continued reliance on capital punishment undermines claims of social openness and tolerance.
Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in tourism infrastructure and high-profile international sporting events, including preparations to host the 2034 World Cup, as part of plans to diversify its oil-dependent economy. Despite this, authorities maintain that the death penalty is essential for maintaining public order.
Officials argue that capital punishment is applied only after lengthy judicial processes and once all avenues for appeal have been exhausted. Amnesty International, which began documenting executions in the kingdom in 1990, notes that figures from earlier periods remain unclear.
According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia ranked as the world’s third-highest executor of death sentences in 2022, 2023 and 2024, behind only China and Iran.
