Saudi Sets New Death Penalty Record After Executing 340 In 2025

Contributing sentiments towards policy:

43% : Activists say the kingdom's continued embrace of capital punishment undermines the image of a more open, tolerant society that is central to de-facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Vision's 2030 reform agenda.
43% : Authorities in the kingdom, however, argue the death penalty is necessary to maintain public order and is only used after all avenues for appeal have been exhausted.
40% : The kingdom has killed 340 people so far this year, according to AFP's count, and has in recent years trailed only China and Iran among countries carrying out the death penalty.
40% : Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offences at the end of 2022, after suspending the use of the death penalty in narcotics cases for around three years.
39% : Executing them is against international law mandating that the death penalty only be used for intentional homicide," said Harriet McCulloch of the Reprieve rights group.
36% : The kingdom also faces sustained criticism over its use of the death penalty, which rights groups have condemned as excessive and in marked contrast to the country's efforts to present a modern image to the world.
34% : The Arab world's largest economy is also one of the biggest markets for captagon, an illicit stimulant that was Syria's largest export under Bashar al-Assad -- according to the United Nations.

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