Saudi Arabia has carried out 100 executions so far this year after putting seven more people to death on Tuesday, according to official announcements compiled by AFP.
Five of those executed were convicted of drug trafficking offences, pushing the number of executions linked to drugs this year to 65. Foreign nationals account for 43 of those cases.
The grim milestone has intensified criticism from human rights organisations, with Amnesty International warning that the kingdom’s use of capital punishment is accelerating.
On Monday, the rights group described the figure as a troubling sign of what it called the authorities’ unlawful and excessive reliance on the death penalty. Amnesty said foreign nationals have been disproportionately affected, particularly in drug related cases, and raised concerns about the fairness of some trials.
The organisation also warned that at least 63 Ethiopian nationals being held at a detention facility in Khamis Mushait in south western Saudi Arabia could face imminent execution for drug related offences.
Of the 100 people executed this year, 48 were Saudi citizens. The remaining executions involved foreign nationals, including 12 Ethiopians, seven Pakistanis, six Sudanese, four Yemenis and four Syrians.
The latest figures follow a record breaking year in 2025 when Saudi Arabia executed 356 people. Of those, 243 were convicted in drug related cases, the highest annual total recorded by Amnesty International since it began tracking executions in 1990.
Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offences in late 2022 after a suspension that lasted nearly three years.
According to Amnesty, the kingdom has ranked behind only China and Iran for the number of executions carried out worldwide over the past three years.
While rights groups argue that the scale of executions undermines Saudi Arabia’s efforts to project a modern image internationally, Saudi authorities maintain that capital punishment is an essential tool for preserving public order and is only carried out after all legal appeals have been exhausted.
