The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has witnessed a record-breaking tidal wave regarding the number of executions in 2024, crossing the record of 300 death penalties.
The number of executions in the Kingdom has surged significantly with state media and human rights groups estimating about 303 to 330 people were executed by December.
The scale of the surge and its composition are particularly striking. Drug-related offences have driven a significant portion of these executions with 103 of the individuals convicted of drug offences and 45 others sentenced for terror offences.
Most of those executions were linked to trafficking charges including alleged drug smuggling as Syria saw a surge in the influx of amphetamine-like substances known as captagon during the rule of former President Bashar Al-Assad.
They also envisaged individuals accused of non-capital terrorism which is a charge that human rights organizations argue is commonly used against those who have engaged in protests against governments.
In September alone, around 200 executions were reportedly executed, marking an average of one execution every two days.
Foreign nationals have been more affected with 101 foreigners executed in 2024 – more than three times the rate of previous years. These executions included a total of 14 Asian and African nationalities including 21 Pakistan, 20 Yemen and other Syrian, Nigerian, Egyptian and other nationalities.
Human rights flags concern
These executions have been sharply criticized by several international and local human rights organizations.
In September, Amnesty International, an international non-governmental organization, pointed out that 196 people had already been beheaded by the Saudi authorities, which is the most during the past decade.
The European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) described this as the execution rate of “rocket speed”, stating that 2024 saw a record number of executions of women, with seven put to death this year so far – three of them on drug-related charges, SPA reported.
Lina al-Hathloul, a woman human rights defender and advocate at ALQST for Human Rights stated that the number is unprecedented, and reflects the Saudi authorities’ “blatant disrespect to the right to life.”
However, Saudi Arabia denies these accusations and claims that its activities are targeted at protecting national security.
Previously in 2022, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud pledged to limit capital punishment, asserting that the Kingdom had eliminated the death penalty except in extreme cases, yet the execution numbers continue to rise.
The country is investing billions towards shifting from an image of being a country of strict religious restrictions and abuses to being an international tourist and entertainment destination as outlined in the Vision 2030 plan spearheaded by Crown Prince.
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