‘Terrorist Crime’: Saudi Arabia executes 17 people in 3 days in drug cases; Increase in death punishment globally conducts investigations

Saudi Arabia officials on Monday killed two people for “terrorist crimes”, bringing the total execution 17 in three days. According to the Saudi Press Agency run by the state cited by CBS News, the latest deaths follow the execution of drug offenses on 15 other individuals- mostly foreign nationals- Saturday and Sunday.The thirteen executed over the weekend was convicted of Hashish’s smuggling, while one was convicted of cocaine smuggling. The speed marks the fastest string of execution since March 2022, when 81 people were killed in a single day for crimes related to terrorism, bouncing international condemnation.So far in 2025, Saudi Arabia has done 239 execution, tracking it for more than 338 records of last year, the highest number since the public documents began in the early 1990s. According to AFP Tally of official data, this year’s execution includes 161 and 136 foreign nationals for drug crimes.The bounce in execution comes amid a crack that analysts have linked the “war on war” started in 2023. Many people arrested for the first time under the campaign are now facing execution after going through legal proceedings.JED Basyauni of the Reprus Rights Group “warned of significant increase in execution for a hash-related drug crimes, foreign nationals created most of these execution.”Christine Bakelle, the sub -regional director of Amnesty International for the Middle East and North Africa, also raised the alarm, “We are really looking at a terrible tendency, foreign nationals are being killed at a shocking rate for crimes that should never be carried out.”Activists argue that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s continuous dependence on the efforts of the capital punishment to project a more progressive image through his vision 2030 correction agenda.