Saudi Arabia Sets New Execution Record With 340 Deaths

Authorities confirmed that three people were executed in the Mecca region on Monday following murder convictions, pushing the year’s total to 340. The figure surpasses the previous record of 338 executions in 2024, marking the second consecutive year the kingdom has reached a new high.

Saudi Arabia now consistently ranks among the world’s leading executioners, trailing only China and Iran in recent years. Rights monitors say the steady increase reflects a broader shift toward harsher criminal enforcement, even as officials insist that capital punishment is applied only after lengthy legal proceedings and appeals have been exhausted.

War on Drugs

Since the beginning of 2025, 232 executions have been linked to drug-related offences, accounting for the majority of the total. Analysts attribute the spike to the kingdom’s intensified “war on drugs” launched in 2023, with many of those arrested in earlier crackdowns now reaching the final stage of the judicial process.

Executions for narcotics offences resumed in late 2022 after a roughly three-year pause. Saudi Arabia is a major destination market for captagon, a synthetic stimulant that flooded the region during Syria’s war years, and authorities say tougher penalties are necessary to deter traffickers and protect society.

Human rights groups argue the executions contradict Saudi Arabia’s efforts to rebrand itself through economic diversification, tourism investment, and global sporting events.