Saudi Arabia has marked a new high in executions, putting 340 people to death in 2025, following the execution of three individuals on Monday, according to an AFP tally.
This figure surpasses last year’s record of 338 executions and marks the second consecutive year the kingdom has set a new annual high since rights groups began tracking executions in the 1990s.
The Interior Ministry, through the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), confirmed that the three executed in the Mecca region were convicted of murder.
Of the 340 executions so far this year, 232 were for drug-related offenses, making up the majority. Analysts attribute the surge to Saudi Arabia’s “war on drugs,” launched in 2023, with many individuals arrested in previous years now facing capital punishment after completing legal proceedings.
Saudi authorities had suspended executions for drug offenses for roughly three years but resumed them at the end of 2022. Since then, the kingdom has intensified police checkpoints on highways and border crossings, confiscating millions of captagon pills and arresting numerous traffickers, with foreigners disproportionately affected.
The kingdom, heavily reliant on foreign labor for construction, domestic work, and hospitality, continues to face international criticism over its use of the death penalty, which rights groups say is excessive and at odds with its attempts to cultivate a modern image.
Amnesty International has documented executions in Saudi Arabia since 1990, while records prior to that remain largely unclear.
