Human Rights Watch and the Middle East Democracy Centre have expressed grave concerns about the dramatic increase in executions in Saudi Arabia, particularly noting the use of capital punishment to suppress peaceful dissent. Recent reports highlight the executions of individuals such as Turki al-Jasser and Abdullah al-Shamri, alongside the mass execution of 81 men in 2022, as indicators of a troubling trend.

This year alone, Saudi Arabia has executed at least 100 foreign nationals, bringing the total number of executions to 189, predominantly for drug-related offenses. This marks a significant increase from the 198 executions recorded by September of the previous year. A Human Rights Watch researcher emphasized, “Saudi authorities have weaponized the country’s justice system to carry out a terrifying number of executions in 2025. The surge in executions is just the latest evidence of the brutally autocratic rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.”

The Arab Charter on Human Rights, to which Saudi Arabia is a signatory, mandates that the death penalty be reserved only for the most serious crimes. This is echoed by Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), although Saudi Arabia has not acceded to the ICCPR.

Abdullah Alaoudh, the senior director of countering authoritarianism at the Middle East Democracy Center, further criticized the Saudi regime. “Behind closed doors, Saudi Arabia is executing peaceful activists and journalists following politicized trials. These state-sanctioned killings are an assault on basic human rights and dignity that the world cannot afford to ignore,” he stated.

Amnesty International and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have also raised alarm over the sharp rise in executions for drug-related offenses, marking a continued and concerning trend. The issues extend beyond executions to include systemic abuses within the Saudi criminal justice system, such as torture, forced confessions, and extended detentions without trial.

As international scrutiny intensifies, these organizations call for urgent global attention and action to address and halt these human rights violations in Saudi Arabia.