Johnson Progress.

Saudi Arabia has carried out a record 340 executions in 2025, according to an AFP report, surpassing its previous high and marking the second consecutive year the kingdom has broken its own record for state-sanctioned killings.

This total follows the execution of three individuals convicted of murder in the Mecca region on Monday, as confirmed in a statement from the interior ministry carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.

The new figure, current as of late December 2025, narrowly exceeds the 338 executions recorded in the entirety of 2024.

A significant majority of this year’s death sentences 232 have been for drug-related offenses, based on AFP’s count of official reports.

This surge is largely attributed to Saudi Arabia’s escalated “war on drugs,” a campaign that was intensified in 2023.

The kingdom resumed executions for drug offenses at the end of 2022 after a near three-year hiatus.

Many of those executed in 2025 were arrested during the initial waves of this crackdown, with their legal proceedings concluding only recently.

The campaign targets a market that has become a major destination for captagon, a potent amphetamine-type stimulant previously exported extensively by Syria under the regime of Bashar al-Assad

In response to the drug crisis, Saudi authorities have significantly increased law enforcement measures.

A government statement detailed the expansion of these efforts, noting, “Since the launch of its drug initiative, Saudi Arabia has amplified police presence at checkpoints along highways and borders.”

This heightened security has led to the confiscation of millions of drug pills and the arrest of numerous traffickers.

The campaign has disproportionately impacted foreign workers, who constitute a large portion of the kingdom’s labor force.

Despite these enforcement justifications, the dramatic rise in executions has drawn sharp international condemnation.

Human rights organizations have long criticized Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty, arguing the practice is excessively applied.

This record-setting year presents a stark contrast to the kingdom’s ambitious Vision 2030 reform agenda, which seeks to project a modern and progressive image globally to attract foreign investment and tourism.

“This practice contrasts sharply with the kingdom’s attempts to project a modern and progressive image globally,” noted one analysis of the situation, highlighting the tension between Saudi Arabia’s domestic penal policies and its international branding efforts.

Amnesty International, which has documented executions in the country since 1990, has repeatedly labeled the rate of executions as alarming.

As the year concludes, the 2025 execution tally underscores Saudi Arabia’s stringent approach to crime and narcotics, even as it faces ongoing scrutiny from global rights advocates who argue that the death penalty, particularly for non-lethal drug offenses, violates international human rights standards.

The consecutive record-breaking years indicate no abatement in this facet of the kingdom’s judicial system.