Amnesty: 180 executions in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the year

Berlin. In light of the persistently high number of executions in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International is calling for more pressure from the international community. Saudi Arabia's allies must "urgently put pressure on the authorities to stop their executions and comply with their international human rights obligations," said Julia Duchrow, Secretary General of Amnesty International in Germany, in Berlin on Monday. According to a report by the human rights organization, 180 people have already been executed in the Arab country this year.

According to the report, 46 people were executed in June alone, an average of more than one per day. The death penalty was primarily used for drug offenses, with such sentences accounting for 66 percent of the executions carried out so far in 2025. Foreign nationals, such as those from Pakistan and Syria, were also disproportionately affected.

In Saudi Arabia, approximately 1,800 people were executed between 2014 and the middle of this year. A sad peak of 345 executions was reached in 2024, it was reported.

The relentless and ruthless application of the death penalty after grossly unfair trials in Saudi Arabia demonstrates a "shocking disregard for human life," Duchrow denounced. Its use in drug offenses is also a "massive violation of international law and standards."

"We are witnessing a truly horrific trend in which foreign nationals are being executed at an alarming rate for crimes that should never be punishable by death," said Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty's regional director. Behind the "progressive image" the country wants to project worldwide lies a "dark and deadly reality."

RND/dpa/epd