Saudi Arabia’s Execution Campaign Escalates as Crown Prince Readies U.S. Visit
Rights groups sound alarm over record number of executions and pending child-defendant death sentences ahead of Washington trip
Saudi Arabia is on track to record the highest number of executions in its modern history amid preparations for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s working visit to Washington on 18 November, raising fresh concerns from international rights organisations.
The kingdom carried out at least two hundred and forty-one executions by early August 2025, with reports indicating the mid-year total of one hundred and eighty added to the five hundred people executed for drug-related offences and other non-lethal crimes in the past decade.
Many of those executed are foreign nationals, and dozens of new death sentences have been issued to individuals arrested as children.
One prominent case involves Youssef al‑Manasif, who was arrested as a minor and initially had a death sentence overturned by the Supreme Court — only to see a second death sentence reinstated on the same evidence of a forced confession, according to rights monitors.
His case exemplifies the kingdom’s use of capital-punishment laws to target protestors, dissidents and juveniles.
The spike in executions coincides with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s public efforts to promote the kingdom’s Vision 2030 reforms, high-profile cultural and entertainment events, and a diplomatic reset with the Donald Trump administration.
In the lead-up to his U.S. visit, more than thirty-six human-rights and press-freedom organisations issued a joint call urging the United States to press Riyadh on its rights record, especially concerning the death penalty, juvenile executions and the crackdown on free expression.
Despite previous commitments to limit the death penalty to murder cases, Saudi judicial and interior-ministry data show a consistent uptick in capital punishments for drug trafficking and other non-violent crimes.
In 2024 the total reached at least three hundred and forty-five people — the highest annual figure recorded — and the first half of 2025 already exceeded one hundred and eighty, suggesting the record will be broken again.
Observers say the timing of the surge — just weeks before the Crown Prince’s Washington visit — adds political urgency to rights-group demands.
Some analysts argue it signals a brutal warning to domestic dissenters that international acclaim or business-friendly reform cannot overshadow the prevailing culture of repression.
The United States, while advancing a deepening strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia, now faces calls to weigh strategic interests against the kingdom’s human-rights record.
The kingdom carried out at least two hundred and forty-one executions by early August 2025, with reports indicating the mid-year total of one hundred and eighty added to the five hundred people executed for drug-related offences and other non-lethal crimes in the past decade.
Many of those executed are foreign nationals, and dozens of new death sentences have been issued to individuals arrested as children.
One prominent case involves Youssef al‑Manasif, who was arrested as a minor and initially had a death sentence overturned by the Supreme Court — only to see a second death sentence reinstated on the same evidence of a forced confession, according to rights monitors.
His case exemplifies the kingdom’s use of capital-punishment laws to target protestors, dissidents and juveniles.
The spike in executions coincides with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s public efforts to promote the kingdom’s Vision 2030 reforms, high-profile cultural and entertainment events, and a diplomatic reset with the Donald Trump administration.
In the lead-up to his U.S. visit, more than thirty-six human-rights and press-freedom organisations issued a joint call urging the United States to press Riyadh on its rights record, especially concerning the death penalty, juvenile executions and the crackdown on free expression.
Despite previous commitments to limit the death penalty to murder cases, Saudi judicial and interior-ministry data show a consistent uptick in capital punishments for drug trafficking and other non-violent crimes.
In 2024 the total reached at least three hundred and forty-five people — the highest annual figure recorded — and the first half of 2025 already exceeded one hundred and eighty, suggesting the record will be broken again.
Observers say the timing of the surge — just weeks before the Crown Prince’s Washington visit — adds political urgency to rights-group demands.
Some analysts argue it signals a brutal warning to domestic dissenters that international acclaim or business-friendly reform cannot overshadow the prevailing culture of repression.
The United States, while advancing a deepening strategic partnership with Saudi Arabia, now faces calls to weigh strategic interests against the kingdom’s human-rights record.
