End The Death Penalty In the news

Record number of executions in Saudi Arabia in first six months of 2025 – mostly for drugs

Saudi Arabia is on track to break its own grim record for number of executions carried out in one year, with a significant rise in executions for drugs, reports the Associated Press.

More than half of those executed this year were foreign nationals: mainly Egyptians, Somalis, Pakistanis and Ethiopians.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman could do a lot more to stop the surge in executions if he wanted to, Reprieve’s head of MENA Jeed Basyouni told Associated Press:

“He could do mass pardons. He could insist on rewriting laws so that they are in line with international law.” 

“The billions spent on so-called reforms, designed to promote a more tolerant and inclusive kingdom under the crown prince’s rule, mask an authoritarian state where daily executions for drug crimes are now the norm.”