Human rights groups have condemned Saudi Arabia after it executed a record number of prisoners for the second consecutive year, with 347 executions recorded this year.
Foreign news agencies reported on 21 Dec 2025 GMT+7 that Reprieve, a UK-based human rights advocacy organization, condemned Saudi Arabia for carrying out so many executions that it broke records for two consecutive years.
Reprieve, which has been monitoring executions in Saudi Arabia continuously, stated that at least 347 people have been executed this year, up from 345 in 2024, marking the highest number of executions in a single year since they began collecting data.
The most recent executions were two Pakistani nationals convicted of drug-related offenses. Others executed included a journalist and two young men who were minors at the time they were accused in protest-related cases.
However, Reprieve's data shows that about two-thirds of those executed were convicted of non-violent drug offenses punishable by death, including 96 cases involving cannabis alone. The United Nations has stated this is "contrary to international norms and standards."
More than half of those executed were foreigners, which appears to be part of Saudi Arabia’s internal "war on drugs" policy.
"Saudi Arabia is currently acting with complete impunity," said Jihad Bassuni, Reprieve's regional head for the Middle East and North Africa on the death penalty. "It has almost become a mockery of human rights."
She also accused the Saudi justice system of widespread torture and forced confessions, calling it a "brutal and arbitrary crackdown" that harms innocent and vulnerable people in society.
"They seem unconcerned about who is executed, as long as they can send the message to society that there will be zero tolerance—no leniency whatsoever—on whatever issue they are addressing, whether protests, freedom of expression, or drugs," Bassuni said.
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Source:bbc