"Saudi authorities executed 356 people in 2025, setting a new record for the number of inmates put to death in the kingdom in a single year. Analysts have largely attributed the increase in executions to Riyadh's war on drugs, with some of those arrested in previous years only now being executed after legal proceedings and convictions. Official data released by the Saudi government said 243 people were executed in drug-related cases in 2025 alone, according to a tally kept by Agence France-Presse."
"The figures mark the second consecutive year in which Saudi Arabia has carried out its highest number of executions, after authorities executed 338 people in 2024. Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offences at the end of 2022, after suspending the use of the death penalty in narcotics cases for about three years. The Gulf kingdom is one of the biggest markets for fenethylline, an illicit stimulant widely known under the brand name Captagon, which was Syria's largest export under its former leader, Bashar al-Assad, according to the UN."
"Since Saudi Arabia launched its war on drugs, authorities have increased the number of police checkpoints on highways and at border crossings, where millions of pills have been confiscated and dozens of traffickers arrested. To date, most of those who have been executed in drugs-related cases have been foreigners. The kingdom has faced sustained criticism over its use of the death penalty, which rights groups have condemned as excessive and in marked contrast to Saudi Arabia's efforts to present a modern image to the world."
Saudi authorities executed 356 people in 2025, a record annual total. Analysts attribute the rise largely to Riyadh's intensified war on drugs, with some arrests from previous years culminating in recent convictions and executions. Official data show 243 executions were drug-related in 2025, per Agence France-Presse tallies. Executions rose for a second consecutive year after 338 people were put to death in 2024, and executions for narcotics resumed at the end of 2022 following a three-year suspension. The kingdom is a major market for fenethylline (Captagon). Checkpoints and seizures have increased, and most drug-execution victims have been foreigners. Rights groups and activists criticize the death penalty as excessive and inconsistent with Saudi modernization and Vision 2030 efforts.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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