SAUDI Arabia has carried out its highest number of executions in more than three decades after three executions announced on Sept 28 took the figure in 2024 to 198, according to an AFP tally.
The Gulf kingdom executed the third-highest number of prisoners in the world after China and Iran in 2023, according to Amnesty International.
The latest tally surpassed its previous highs of 196 in 2022 and 192 in 1995, according to the London-based human rights group, which began recording the annual figures in 1990.
The official Saudi Press Agency announced the latest three executions, citing a statement from the Interior Ministry.
The 198 executions this year compare with 170 in 2023, according to tallies compiled by AFP from official media reports.
Amnesty on Sept 28 accused the Saudi authorities of “pursuing a relentless killing spree” as the rights group confirmed its own tally of 198 executions in the Gulf monarchy so far in 2024.
The oil-rich kingdom has faced persistent criticism over its use of the death penalty, which human rights groups have condemned as excessive and out of step with Saudi efforts to present a modern image on the international stage.
Amnesty secretary-general Agnes Callamard said Riyadh displayed “a chilling disregard for human life while promoting an empty-worded campaign to rebrand” the country’s image.
She urged Saudi Arabia to “immediately establish a moratorium on executions, and order retrials for those on death row in line with international standards without resorting to the death penalty”.
Ms Jeed Basyouni, head of Middle East anti-death penalty advocacy for non-profit organisation Reprieve, said the new record showed that “Saudi Arabia has given up the pretence around reforms on the use of the death penalty”.
“Promises made in recent years haven’t materialised or have even been reversed,” she added.
Those put to death in 2024 included 32 people convicted of terrorism-related offences and 52 found guilty of drug-related offences, according to the tally compiled by AFP.
