Saudi Arabia is carrying out executions at an alarming pace in 2025, prompting grave concerns from human rights organizations who accuse the kingdom of weaponizing its justice system to silence dissent. A new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW) alleges that the unprecedented surge in executions is part of a broader strategy by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s government to crush opposition voices and deter criticism of the ruling family.

Between January and August, Saudi authorities executed 241 people, according to figures from the rights group Reprieve. This marks one of the highest execution rates in recent years, with over two-thirds of those killed convicted of nonlethal, drug-related offenses – crimes that international human rights law maintains should never warrant the death penalty. More than half of the victims were foreign nationals, underscoring the disproportionate targeting of migrant workers and vulnerable expatriates who often lack access to fair legal representation.

The pace has been accelerating. In just the first week of August, 22 people were executed, representing the fastest execution rate since March 2022, when Saudi Arabia carried out a mass execution of 81 people in a single day – the largest in the kingdom’s modern history. HRW researcher Joey Shea described the trend as “the latest evidence of the brutally autocratic rule of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman,” adding that the Saudi justice system has been “weaponized” to........

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