Saudi Arabia executes citizen for drug trafficking

Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry announced Sunday the execution of a Saudi citizen in Mecca Province after his conviction for a second offense of drug trafficking.

In an official statement published by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Sunday, the ministry identified the individual as Mansour bin Saad bin Ayyad Al-Harthy, a Saudi national. He was convicted of trafficking amphetamine pills and hashish.

The statement detailed that security authorities apprehended Al-Harthy. Following an investigation, he was charged and referred to the specialized court, which found the charges proven and sentenced him to death by ta'zir.

In Islamic Law, ta'zir refers to punishment for offenses at the discretion of the judge (Qadi) or ruler of the state.

The ministry noted that the verdict underwent all stages of litigation, becoming final after appeal and confirmation by the Supreme Court. A royal order was subsequently issued to carry out the religiously sanctioned ruling.

Saudi Arabia is consistently ranked among the world's top executioners. While there was a de facto moratorium on drug-related executions between January 2021 and November 2022, it was abruptly lifted without official explanation.

Since then, human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Reprieve have reported a significant surge in such executions, with 2024 seeing a record number of executions, and 2025 on track to surpass it.

These groups frequently criticize Saudi Arabia for its use of the death penalty for non-violent drug offenses, which they claim violates international human rights law's standard that capital punishment should be reserved only for the "most serious crimes" involving intentional killing.