Saudi Arabia’s Execution Surge Contradicts MBS Reform Promises
Despite promises by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) to limit capital punishment, Saudi Arabia has seen an unprecedented wave of executions in 2025, with human rights experts viewing the practice as a tool for suppressing dissent and instilling public fear.
Since the beginning of the year, Saudi Arabia has executed over 283 people, primarily on charges related to terrorism, treason, and drug offenses. This trend is in stark contrast to MBS’s pledged judicial reforms, leading human rights activists to describe the process as a means of silencing government opponents and critics.
According to an article by Shia Waves Persian, the political targeting is evident in cases like that of Abdullah al-Shammari, a former government worker executed without clear justification, as highlighted in reports from October 2025, including analysis in The Nation magazine. Experts warn that the Saudi Specialised Criminal Court, established to handle terrorism cases, has become a mechanism to legitimize suppression. Al-Shammari was executed under the discretionary Ta’zir sentencing—a non-codified punishment not fully endorsed by Islamic jurists—which is often applied to political crimes or criticism of the government. Furthermore, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the execution of Jalal Labad, a Shi’a teenager arrested at age 15 for participating in protests, exemplifies the judicial system’s alleged reliance on torture to extract confessions.
The surge in executions includes not only Saudi citizens but also a large number of foreign nationals convicted on drug charges. Following the temporary halt of the death penalty for drug offenses in 2022, Amnesty International reports that over 262 people have been executed for such crimes.
Activists and experts from the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights warn that these executions target a broad range of opponents, including Shi’a minorities, dissenting Sunni clerics, and tribal members opposed to the Neom megaproject, stressing that judicial transparency is virtually nonexistent. Simultaneously, the Saudi government has been channeling significant funds into cultural projects and festivals in an effort to divert global attention from its human rights record. Experts contend this policy instills widespread fear, suppresses criticism, and legitimizes a government that promised judicial reform but is actively targeting its dissenters.
