by Leonid Tsukanov
[REGNUM] Saudi Arabia has set a rather peculiar record. The kingdom executed over 350 people in 2025, two dozen more than in 2024. Such a clear negative trend doesn't sit well with the image of a progressive kingdom that the new wave of sheikhs is trying to build.
However, official Riyadh apparently does not see this as a big problem.
| It’s our culture — qwitcher judging! |
Capital punishment has long been used in Saudi Arabia and has been part of the national criminal code almost since the first days of the kingdom's existence.
However, systematic documentation of death sentences only began in the second half of the 1990s as part of the judicial reforms carried out under King Fahd Abdulaziz.
The list of crimes for which one can be sentenced to death is quite extensive and includes both “serious charges” typical for many other countries (murder, drug trafficking, robbery with aggravating circumstances, sexual crimes), and very specific ones (for example, non-traditional sexual orientation and false prophecy).
The number of executions didn't break records in the 2000s. Even after 2005, when King Abdullah Abdulaziz came to power and seriously tightened the screws in his fight for morality and the health of the Saudi nation, the death penalty remained a last resort.
Moreover, even during the turbulent times of the "Arab Spring," when the House of Saud, frightened by the fall of old regimes in various parts of the Middle East, handed down the death penalty to almost everyone who tried to stir up a mob against the ruling dynasty, the number of those sentenced did not exceed a hundred people.
A much more noticeable turn of events occurred in 2016, with the accession of the current King Salman
...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and Lord of Most of the Arabians...Abdulaziz, when more than 150 people fell under the executioner's sword, including the authoritative Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, accused of plotting against the crown.
The latter's death seriously angered Iran: Tehran perceived al-Nimr's execution as an attack against the entire Shiite community and severed ties with the kingdom for almost ten years.
| No loss felt on the Saudi side, I suspect. Rather, the removal of a thorn in their side would have been a relief. |
In 2025, drug trafficking became the main crime for which the Saudis imposed the death penalty. More than 200 people, mostly foreign citizens, were executed for this crime. At least 96 of them paid with their lives for distributing soft drugs.
The war on drugs, declared at the instigation of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman
...Crown Prince and modernizer of Saudi Arabia as of 2016. The Turks hate him, so he must be all right, despite the occasional brutal murder of Qatar-owned journalists...
three years ago, is the main source of sentences without appeal. This began in the fall of 2022, and since then, the proportion of those sentenced to death for drug-related offenses has not fallen below 60%.
Moreover, drug offenders are the only category of defendants for whom an unspoken ban on extradition to their home countries applies.
Riyadh acts harshly and makes no concessions based on origin.
For example, in 2025, several citizens of Pakistan, with whom the Saudis had developed strong strategic relations, were sentenced to death. Similar fates befell citizens of Egypt, the UAE, and EU countries.
STARS ON THE SCAFFOLD
The status of the criminal traditionally attracts additional attention to the work of Saudi executioners. While the executions of ordinary drug dealers, adulterers, and other antisocial elements take place in the background and are not attended by a full house, the taking of the lives of celebrities attracts a large crowd of onlookers.
The year 2016 proved to be the richest in star executions. In addition to the aforementioned "rebellious preacher" al-Nimr, one of Al-Qaeda's key ideologists, Faris al-Zahrani, lost his head after spending more than a decade in a Saudi prison.
Also that year, a member of the junior branch of the House of Saud, Prince Turki ibn Saud al-Kabir, was executed for murder with particular cruelty.
Despite the fact that the victim of the massacre had not moved in important circles during his lifetime, the murderous prince received no leniency. Moreover, al-Kabir's trial became a show trial, intended to emphasize that everyone is equal before the law, regardless of status.
In 2025, famous people also appeared on the scaffold.
For example, among those executed was journalist Turki al-Jasser, a well-known critic of the House of Saud in Saudi Arabia and an associate of dissident beloved martyr of journalism Jamal Khashoggi
...who was simultaneously a very well paid Washington Post columnist and a long time propagandist for the Moslem Brotherhood and Al Qaeda — he died while on the Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
i payroll, but previously wrote at the behest of then-Saudi intel chief Prince Turki al-Faisal...
, who was killed in 2018.
Al-Jasser, who was arrested back in 2018, is believed to have been the author and moderator of the Twitter channel "Kashkol," one of the largest Arabic-language dissident accounts. On its pages, the journalist regularly criticized Riyadh's policies and the "sham reforms" of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, calling for an amnesty for political prisoners and expanded women's rights.
Ultimately, the inquisitive journalist was arrested for discrediting the authorities and, after seven years of imprisonment, lost his mind.
The executions of Shiites Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal al-Labbad, accused of participating in anti-government rallies in 2011–2012, also caused quite a stir. Both men were minors at the time of their crimes and had been awaiting sentence for over ten years.
During their time behind bars, the young men were charged with charges that even some seasoned terrorists would never have been "honored" with: from accusations of undermining the foundations of the state to terrorist and espionage activities.
Although the “Iranian connection” was not mentioned in the case, many outside observers considered the executions of al-Derazi and al-Labbad to be “echoes” of the al-Nimr case.
Iran reacted coolly to the deaths of its fellow believers, but did not, as it had in 2016, sever ties with Riyadh. Apparently, it deemed the scale of the incident insufficient.
INTERNAL AFFAIRS
The rise in executions is a concern not only for human rights activists but also for UN officials, as it in no way aligns with the claims of a "thaw" and liberalization of Saudi domestic policy voiced by bin Salman and his associates.
Not a month goes by without Riyadh's methods being called "barbaric" or inappropriate. Especially since Saudi Arabia regularly tops global anti-humanitarian rankings in terms of the number of executions.
Nevertheless, the kingdom takes these attacks in stride. Saudi courtiers typically avoid elaborate explanations and call the death penalty a "normal tool" for ensuring national security.
And at the same time, they casually note that it is the determination and steadfastness of the House of Saud that ensures the country's stability and prosperity in the face of constant upheaval in the Middle East.
Riyadh, as expected, has no intention of letting go of the "sword of justice" in the near future. Moreover, it is confident that cruelty toward criminals will not only not hinder the construction of a new generation of monarchy, but will actually make its position unshakable.
Related:
Nimr al-Nimr 11/03/2025 What's happening in Sudan?
Nimr al-Nimr 05/30/2025 'The Shadow of Al-Nemr': Prominent Iranian Ayatollah Arrested in Saudi Arabia, deported as Tehran disavows remarks
Nimr al-Nimr 11/12/2024 At Riyadh summit, Saudi crown prince backs Iran, accuses Israel of genocide
Nimr al-Nimr 11/03/2025 What's happening in Sudan?
Nimr al-Nimr 05/30/2025 'The Shadow of Al-Nemr': Prominent Iranian Ayatollah Arrested in Saudi Arabia, deported as Tehran disavows remarks
Nimr al-Nimr 11/12/2024 At Riyadh summit, Saudi crown prince backs Iran, accuses Israel of genocide