Rights Groups Condemn Unprecedented High in Executions in the Gulf State

The nation has broken its own annual record for the carrying out of death sentences for a second year running.

A minimum of 347 individuals have been subjected to capital punishment so far this year, as reported by a UK-based campaign group that tracks such sentences.

This figure tops the number of 345 recorded in 2024, making it what the group calls the "bloodiest year of executions in the kingdom since monitoring began."

The newest people put to death involved two individuals from Pakistan sentenced on illegal substance violations.

Details on the Executions

Further cases this year involved a journalist and two youths who were underage at the time of their alleged offences linked to demonstrations.

Five were female prisoners. However, per the monitoring group, the vast bulk—about two-thirds—were sentenced for non-lethal substance violations.

Global organizations have said that applying the death penalty for such offences is "incompatible with international human rights standards."

More than half of those executed were individuals from other countries, ensnared in what has been labeled a "crackdown on substances" within the kingdom.

"Saudi Arabia is operating with complete impunity now," stated a representative of the rights organization. "It's almost flouting the international rights framework."

The official further labeled coerced admissions and abuse as "systemic" within the Saudi legal framework, calling it a "harsh and indiscriminate campaign."

Personal Accounts

Among those executed recently was a young national of Egypt, arrested in 2021. He reportedly claimed he was forced into smuggling drugs.

Loved ones of men on awaiting execution for drug charges have described the "terror" they now live in.

"The only time of the week that I find peace is on Friday and Saturday because there are no executions on those days," one relative stated.

Cellmates have according to accounts witnessed individuals they lived alongside for years being "taken in protest to their death."

Wider Backdrop

The paramount authority of Saudi Arabia, who assumed power in 2017, has led profound social changes, relaxing some limitations while concurrently cracking down on dissent.

Although the country has opened up in a bid to diversify its economy, its human rights record remains "poor" according to international observers.

"There have been no consequences for carrying out these executions," said a expert focusing on the region. "Major events continue with minimal fallout."

Reports suggest families of the deceased are typically left in the dark, denied the bodies, and left unaware of burial sites.

International Response

A United Nations expert 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 safeguards," including access to lawyers and embassy contact for detainees from abroad.

Particular executions have drawn focused criticism, including those of individuals who were under the age of majority at the time of their reported offences and a journalist executed on claims of disloyalty.

"Capital punishment against media workers is a chilling attack on freedom of expression," declared a senior UN cultural official.

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

The letter added that the capital punishment is applied solely for the "gravest offences" and after concluding all court appeals.