Saudi Arabia Carries Out Seven Executions in One Day.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Saudi Arabia executed seven individuals on Wednesday, October 23, five of them were involved in narcotics trafficking.
According to an AFP tally of official pronouncements, these executions raise the total number carried out in the kingdom this year to 236.
The interior ministry said via SPA that Yahya Lutfullah, Ali Azib, Ahmed Ali, and Salem Nahari, all Yemeni nationals, were executed in the southern province of Asir for smuggling hashish into the nation.
There have now been 71 executions for drug-related offences this year, including the execution of a Pakistani man for drug trafficking in a different instance.
Captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine made mostly in Syria and Lebanon, has found a significant market in Saudi Arabia.
Over the past year, the monarchy has stepped up its anti-drug activities, which have resulted in multiple raids and arrests.
Executions for drug trafficking have increased since the ban on the capital penalty for drug offences was lifted two years ago.
Two Saudi citizens were also put to death for murder on Wednesday. After China and Iran, Saudi Arabia was the country with the third-highest number of executions worldwide in 2023, according to Amnesty International.
Human rights organisations have frequently denounced Riyadh’s use of the death penalty, claiming it is disproportionate and at odds with the kingdom’s efforts to modernise its reputation abroad.
The use of the death penalty has been justified by the Saudi government, which claims that it is necessary to preserve public order and that sentences are only executed after all appeals have been considered.