Saudi Arabia has executed eight people in a single day amid a rising trend of applying the death penalty for drug-related offenses, according to Saudi state media. The Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that four Somali nationals and three Ethiopians were executed in the southern region of Najran on charges of drug trafficking. Additionally, one Saudi citizen was executed for allegedly murdering his mother.
According to AFP, Saudi Arabia has carried out 230 executions so far in 2025, of which 154 were related to drug offenses. If this pace continues, it is likely to surpass the record of 338 executions in 2023.
Analysts have linked this surge in executions to the country’s intensified “war on drugs,” which began in 2023. In many cases, those sentenced to death were first-time offenders who were executed only after legal procedures and being found guilty.
At the end of 2022, Saudi Arabia had announced a moratorium on executions for drug-related crimes, which lasted for nearly three years. However, this was lifted, and executions resumed in large numbers. AFP reports that 19 people were executed for drug offenses in 2022, just 2 in 2023, and 117 in 2024.
Human rights activists argue that Saudi Arabia’s continued use of the death penalty contradicts Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda, which aims to present the kingdom as a more open and tolerant society.
Saudi authorities, however, maintain that the death penalty is essential for maintaining public order and is only carried out after all avenues of appeal have been exhausted.
About the Author
