'Terrorist crimes': Saudi Arabia executes 17 people in 3 days in drug-related cases; death penalty surge draws global scrutiny

Saudi Arabia authorities executed two people on Monday for "terrorist crimes," bringing the total number of executions to 17 over three days.

The latest deaths follow the execution of 15 other individuals- mostly foreign nationals- on Saturday and Sunday for drug offenses, according to the state-run Saudi Press Agency, cited by CBS News.

Thirteen of those executed over the weekend were convicted of smuggling hashish, while one was convicted of smuggling cocaine. The pace marks the fastest string of executions since March 2022, when 81 people were executed in a single day for terrorism-related offenses, sparking international condemnation.

So far in 2025, Saudi Arabia has carried out 239 executions, putting it on track to exceed last year’s record of 338, the highest number since public documentation began in the early 1990s.

This year’s executions include 161 for drug offenses and 136 foreign nationals, according to an AFP tally of official data.

The surge in executions comes amid a crackdown that analysts link to the kingdom’s “war on drugs,” launched in 2023. Many of those first arrested under the campaign are now facing execution after going through legal proceedings.

Jeed Basyouni of the Reprieve rights group warned of a “significant rise in executions for hashish-related drug offenses, with foreign nationals making up most of these executions.”

Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty International ’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, also raised alarm, “We are witnessing a truly horrifying trend, with foreign nationals being put to death at a startling rate for crimes that should never carry the death penalty.”

Activists argue the kingdom’s continued reliance on capital punishment contradicts efforts by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to project a more progressive image through his vision 2030 reform agenda.