More Than 338 Persons Were Executed In Saudi Arabia In 2024 -

More than 338 persons were executed in Saudi Arabia in 2024. According to the AFP count, Saudi Arabia carried out at least 338 executions in 2024, which was the most in decades and a significant increase from the 170 executed in 2023.

According to an AFP tally of official reports, Saudi Arabia executed six Iranians for drug trafficking on Wednesday, following a year in which it carried out a record number of executions.

As reported by the official SPA news agency, six people were put to death near Dammam, on the Gulf coast, for “clandestinely introducing hashish” into the country, but it was not made clear when.

Iran’s foreign ministry in Tehran said it had called the Saudi ambassador to listen to a “strong protest” about the “unacceptable” breach of “the rules and norms of international law.”

According to the AFP count, Saudi Arabia carried out at least 338 executions in 2024, which was the most in decades and a significant increase from the 170 executed in 2023.

The previous highs were 196 in 2022 and 192 in 1995, according to human rights organisation Amnesty International, which has been keeping track of executions in the country since the 1990s.

The AFP count indicated that at least 117 of those executed last year were convicted drug traffickers.

Since the kingdom lifted a ban on the death penalty for drug charges two years ago, there has been a surge in the execution of drug traffickers who have been found guilty.

Saudi Arabia has emerged as a significant market for captagon, an addictive psychostimulant that was manufactured in vast amounts in Syria during the civil conflict that resulted in the toppling of long-time dictator Bashar al-Assad last month.

In 2024, a record 338 persons were executed, 129 of whom were foreigners. 24 Pakistanis, 17 Egyptians, 16 Syrians, 14 Nigerians, 13 Jordanians, seven Ethiopians, and 25 Yemenis were among them.

The execution of 81 individuals for “terrorist crimes” on a single day by Saudi Arabia in March 2022 incited international outcry.

Amnesty, which has not yet released its 2024 statistics, says that Saudi Arabia executed more individuals in 2023 than only China and Iran.

According to Saudi officials, the death penalty is only applied when all other options for appeal have been exhausted and is required to preserve public order.