Saudi Arabia is carrying out executions at a pace never seen before in its modern history. Behind official statements and claims of reform lies an alarming reality: a justice system increasingly used as a tool of repression, discrimination, and fear. The scale, speed, and secrecy of executions in recent years demand urgent international attention.
According to official statistics, Saudi Arabia executed at least 1,816 people between January 2014 and June 2025. Almost one-third of these executions were of drug-related offenses, which, according to international human rights legislation, should never result in the death sentence. Even more concerning is the fact that over 75% of people put to death for drug offenses are foreign nationals, exposing a glaring pattern of exploitation and inequality.
The issue has become worse each year. In 2024, Saudi Arabia carried out 345 executions, the highest number recorded by Amnesty International in over three decades. By mid-2025, executions had already surpassed 180, with at least 46 executions in June alone, more than one per day for drug-related charges. According to AFP and Human Rights groups, Saudi Arabia has once again shattered its own record, killing 340 individuals in a single year, and the death toll is still rising.
The death sentence is limited by international law to the “most serious crimes,” which include international killing. This criterion is not met by drug-related offenses. However, after removing a temporary ban, Saudi Arabia started carrying out drug-related executions again in late 2022, resulting in more than 260 drug-related executions in less than three years.
Migrant laborers are severely impacted. There has been a disproportionate number of attacks on citizens of Pakistan, Syria, Jordan, Yemen, Egypt, Nigeria, Somalia, Ethiopia, and other nations. Many are from underprivileged origins, don’t have access to legal counsel, struggle with language barriers, and get little to no assistance from consulates. Authorities frequently withhold bodies, depriving loved ones of the opportunity to grieve, and families often only learn about executions through media accounts.
There are multiple documented cases involving torture, coerced confessions, and secret trials. Saudi Arabia’s duties under the Convention against Torture and other inhuman or degrading treatments, protecting those facing the death penalty, are violated by these actions.
Saudi Arabia is increasingly utilising the death sentence to stifle free speech outside of drug cases. Turki al-Jasser, a journalist who exposed corruption in the royal family, was put to death by officials in JUNE 2025. There was no clear evidence offered, and his arrest, custody, trial, and death were all conducted in secret. His family has not received his body and was not notified of his death sentence.
This is not an isolated case; following politicized trials, activists, academics, and nonviolent critics, including members of the Shia minority, have received death sentences or been put to death. Shia Muslims make up between 10% and 12% of the population, but they are responsible for over 40% of executions tied to terrorism, underscoring institutionalized prejudice and political persecution.
The execution spree in Saudi Arabia reveals a discriminatory, secretive, and coercive legal system. These are chronic abuses rather than single errors. The right to life is seriously violated by executions that follow flawed trials, confessions corrupted by torture, and ambiguous accusations. The international community must move beyond expressions of conversion. The death penalty is irreversible; when wielded by a blurred and politicized system, it becomes a weapon of terror.
