Saudi Arabia executed seven individuals on Wednesday, including five for drug trafficking, according to the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
The executions bring the total number carried out this year in the Gulf kingdom to 236, based on an AFP tally using official statements.
Yahya Lutfullah, Ali Azib, Ahmed Ali, and Salem Nahari were executed in the southern province of Asir for “smuggling hashish” into the country, the interior ministry stated in a report published by SPA.
The report identified all four as Yemeni nationals.
Also on Wednesday, the same source reported the execution of a Pakistani man for drug trafficking, raising the number of people executed in the kingdom for that offence this year to 71.
Saudi Arabia has emerged as a major market for captagon, an addictive amphetamine drug being smuggled from war-torn Syria and Lebanon.
Saudi authorities launched a high-profile anti-drug campaign last year, leading to numerous raids and arrests.
Executions for drug trafficking have surged since a moratorium on the death penalty for such offences was lifted two years ago.
The interior ministry also announced the execution of two Saudi nationals for murder on Wednesday.
In 2023, Saudi Arabia ranked third globally for the number of executions, following China and Iran, according to Amnesty International, which began recording annual figures in 1990.
Riyadh’s use of capital punishment has been widely criticised, with human rights organisations arguing that it is excessive and inconsistent with the kingdom’s efforts to present a more modern image internationally.
Saudi authorities have previously defended the death penalty as necessary for “maintaining public order”, emphasising that sentences are only carried out once “defendants have exhausted all levels of litigation”.
