Riyadh: Those found guilty of drug trafficking face the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, where a staggering 144 out of 217 executions since the start of 2025 have been related to drug offenses. If this trend continues, the total number of executions this year is set to surpass the 338 executions that took place in 2024, the highest since 1990.
According to France24.com, the illegal amphetamine-like drug captagon is at the core of this crackdown, with Saudi Arabia being one of the main consumers in the Middle East. Kristine Beckerle, Amnesty’s deputy regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, expressed grave concerns over the increasing number of foreign nationals executed for crimes that should not warrant the death penalty. Human rights activists argue that such measures tarnish the image of tolerance and modernity that Saudi Arabia aims to project.
Following global outrage over the 2018 murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, Riyadh paused executions for drug offenses for 33 months, resuming them in November 2022. Karim Sader, a Gulf states political scientist and consultant, attributes the recent surge in executions to a backlog from this moratorium. He suggests that the executions of foreign immigrant dealers may attract less media attention compared to Saudi dissidents sentenced for political reasons.
Sader emphasizes that domestic political concerns are central to the current campaign against captagon. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is determined to prevent societal corruption from drugs, even if it means confronting international organizations. The conservative segments of Saudi society view drug-related crimes as warranting the death penalty, aligning with the Crown Prince’s hardline stance.
Director of Public Security Mohammed al-Bassami reported “tangible positive results” in June, with significant actions against traffickers. However, Sader cautions that effective drug campaigns require comprehensive strategies beyond mere repression.
In a regional context, Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria’s interim president, has emerged as an ally in the fight against captagon. Following the seizure of power in Damascus in December 2024, al-Sharaa declared a commitment to eradicate captagon production, which had made Syria the world’s largest producer. The New York Times investigation revealed that captagon was Syria’s major export during its civil war, with the Assad regime heavily benefiting from this trade.
Following Assad’s fall, Syria’s transitional authorities announced the seizing of all captagon production facilities. Meanwhile, Hezbollah in Lebanon, another beneficiary of captagon trafficking, has been weakened by conflict with Israel. Though these developments may reduce trafficking, Sader warns that completely eradicating captagon trafficking remains unlikely.