Saudi Arabia Reaches Record-High Execution Count with Over 300 in 2024

Saudi Arabia executed over 300 people in 2024, according to an AFP tally, following four executions reported on Tuesday, December 3, which pushed the year's total to a record high. The latest executions involved three individuals convicted of drug smuggling and one convicted of murder, as announced by the Saudi Press Agency, citing the interior ministry. This brings the year's total executions to 303, based on state media reports. By the end of September, 200 executions had already been recorded, suggesting a sharp increase in the pace of executions in recent weeks.

According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia carried out the third-highest number of executions globally in 2023, behind China and Iran. The previous record for executions in the kingdom was 196 in 2022, as reported by the London-based human rights group, which has tracked these figures since 1990. Taha al-Hajji, legal director of the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), criticized the "unprecedented" speed of executions in 2024, describing it as "incomprehensible."

The kingdom has also faced criticism for suppressing free speech. Saudi artist Mohammed al-Hazza, 48, was recently sentenced to over 20 years in prison for political cartoons that allegedly insulted the country's leadership. Under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi courts have issued lengthy prison sentences to numerous individuals for their social media activity, according to Amnesty International and ALQST. Officials claim these cases involve terrorism-related offenses.

Al-Hazza's case, described as emblematic of Saudi Arabia's crackdown on freedom of expression, highlights concerns over the independence of the judiciary. This development coincides with Saudi Arabia's failure to secure a seat on the UN Human Rights Council in October.