Saudi Arabia Executes 356 People in 2025 Amid War on Drugs

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has set a grim new milestone, executing a record 356 people in 2025, according to an AFP tally. This figure marks the second consecutive year the kingdom has broken its own record for capital punishment, following 338 executions in 2024.

Analysts and human rights monitors attribute the sharp rise to Riyadh’s intensified “war on drugs.” Of the 356 executions recorded, 243 were related to drug-offenses, representing over 68% of the total.

The surge follows the 2022 resumption of the death penalty for narcotics cases after a three-year moratorium. Experts suggest that the high numbers in 2025 are the result of legal proceedings finally concluding for those arrested in the early stages of the crackdown.

In a significant shift, the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) confirmed that for the first time in a calendar year, more foreigners were executed than Saudi nationals.

The kingdom remains one of the world’s primary markets for captagon, a synthetic stimulant that was a major export from Syria prior to the ousting of Bashar al-Assad in late 2024. In response, Saudi authorities have significantly increased border security and highway checkpoints, leading to mass arrests and subsequent convictions.

Riyadh maintains that the death penalty is a necessary deterrent to maintain public order and combat the scourge of drug trafficking. Government officials assert that executions are carried out only after all legal avenues for appeal have been exhausted under the kingdom’s judicial system.

However, the record-breaking numbers have drawn fierce condemnation from international monitors. Duaa Dhainy, a researcher at ESOHR, told AFP that the statistics prove “promises regarding human rights reforms in Saudi Arabia have no value.”