In the first four months of 2025, Saudi Arabia executed 100 individuals-an average of one person every 1.5 days. This rapid pace marks a worrying return to mass state violence, raising the possibility that 2025 may surpass 2024, the bloodiest year on record with 345 executions. The timing and scale of this escalation signal not only a disregard for international legal standards but an assertive use of the death penalty as a political weapon.
The data reveal that 70% of these 2025 executions were carried out for non-lethal offenses, in clear violation of international human rights law, which limits the use of capital punishment to only the “most serious crimes.” The vast majority were for drug-related and political charges, with 59% of all executions tied to drug offenses-including 20 individuals executed solely for hashish. Most of these were ta’zir sentences, which rely on judicial discretion and were supposedly being reformed after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s 2021 promise to improve sentencing transparency. Yet ta’zir rulings accounted for 64% of executions in 2025 so far, showing that those reforms have not materialized.
Foreign nationals continue to be disproportionately targeted. So far in 2025, 43% of those executed were non-Saudis, including Pakistanis, Syrians, Yemenis, Egyptians, and others. This continues a disturbing trend: in 2024, Saudi Arabia executed 138 foreign nationals, up from just 38 the year before. Many were sentenced to death without access to translators, lawyers, or consular support. In 2024, 75% of drug-related executions involved foreign nationals, with rights groups documenting systemic due process violations. This trend appears to be continuing unrestrained in 2025.
Worryingly, political executions are also on the rise. ESOHR confirmed that at least 11 individuals have been executed this year on charges like joining banned organizations, spying, or threatening state security—terms often used to criminalize dissent. Four of these executions were conducted without even specifying the type of court or sentence issued. Particularly alarming is the execution of two Shia brothers from the Eastern Province just days ago—neither case was known to advocacy groups beforehand, indicating that they were arrested, tried, and executed in total secrecy. This represents a severe collapse of transparency and reinforces long-standing concerns about the weaponization of the death penalty against Shia communities and political opponents.
Minors are also among those facing capital punishment in Saudi Arabia. According to ADHRB, children are still being tried and sentenced to death in violation of international law and Saudi Arabia’s obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In one case, 15-year-old Ali Husain Matrook Abdulla was arrested without a warrant, denied legal assistance, and subjected to psychological and physical abuse until he confessed. Such cases highlight that the Kingdom’s death penalty system targets the most vulnerable, including minors, protesters, and those without legal representation.
This escalation comes amid Saudi Arabia’s spotwashing campaign to rebrand itself through high-profile events. From its bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, to its investments in international tennis, and its role in staging the Italian Super Cup, Saudi Arabia has embraced sportswashing as a deliberate strategy. The 2025 edition of the Formula 1 Grand Prix took place on April 20 in Jeddah, drawing global attention to a polished spectacle crafted to distract from the country’s deepening human rights crisis. But behind the trackside glamour lies a system of repression in which executions are carried out in silence, often against the most powerless.
If the current pace continues, 2025 may surpass 2024’s record of 345 executions, solidifying Saudi Arabia’s place among the most prolific executioners in the world. Despite repeated promises of reform, the Kingdom has shown no intention of limiting its use of capital punishment. The death penalty continues to be used not as a tool of justice, but of control—serving political objectives, silencing dissent, and targeting the vulnerable. The international community must not let image-building efforts mask the reality of state-sanctioned violence. As Saudi Arabia intensifies its crackdown, silence is complicity.