By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Saudi Arabia carried out at least 338 executions in 2024, a dramatic rise from 170 in 2023 and the highest figure recorded in decades, according to AFP’s tally.
Amnesty International, which has been monitoring executions in Saudi Arabia since the 1990s, noted that previous highs were 196 in 2022 and 192 in 1995. Drug-related offences accounted for at least 117 of the executions in 2024.
This increase follows Saudi Arabia’s decision in November 2022 to lift a 21-month unofficial moratorium on the death penalty for drug-related offences. Since then, executions for convicted drug traffickers have risen sharply.
On Wednesday, the Interior Ministry announced the execution of six Iranians for drug trafficking. They were executed in Dammam on the Gulf coast for “clandestinely introducing hashish” into the kingdom, according to a statement from the ministry.
Iran’s foreign ministry summoned the Saudi ambassador to lodge a “strong protest” against what it called an “unacceptable” breach of international norms and law.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia launched a widely publicised anti-drugs campaign involving numerous raids and arrests. The kingdom has become a significant market for captagon, an addictive psychostimulant widely produced in Syria during its civil war.
In September 2024, over 30 Arab and international human rights organisations condemned the “sharp increase” in executions for drug-related crimes.
Foreign nationals accounted for 129 of the 338 people executed in 2024. The executed foreigners included: 25 Yemenis, 24 Pakistanis, 17 Egyptians, 16 Syrians, 14 Nigerians, 13 Jordanians, Seven Ethiopians, among others.
