Saudi Arabia executed at least 356 people in 2025, shattering its previous record of 345 in 2024, with 243 linked to drug offences amid a reinstated “war on drugs” targeting mostly foreign nationals after unfair trials. This surge, contradicting Vision 2030 reform pledges, challenges FIFA’s human rights, labour rights, transparency, and press freedom standards for 2034 World Cup hosts, fuelling sportswashing critiques from groups like Human Rights Watch and Reprieve.
Saudi Arabia has set a new national record for executions for the second consecutive year, with at least 356 people put to death in 2025, according to multiple human rights monitors and media reports. Jurist.org reported on 12 January 2026 that this figure, compiled from official data, marks a sharp escalation driven by drug-related cases, raising profound questions about the kingdom’s suitability as host for the FIFA men’s World Cup in 2034. Analysts attribute the rise to Riyadh’s intensified “war on drugs”, with foreign nationals comprising the majority, often convicted after trials lacking due process guarantees.
Record-Breaking Executions in 2025
Human Rights Watch stated on 13 January 2026 that Saudi authorities executed at least 356 people in 2025, setting a new record and surpassing the 345 executions of 2024. Agence France-Presse (AFP), as cited by Irish Legal News on 5 January 2026, confirmed 356 executions, with 243 convicted of drug-related offences, following the kingdom’s reinstatement of capital punishment for narcotics at the end of 2022 after a three-year suspension. Free Malaysia Today (FMT) echoed this on 31 December 2025, noting the toll as the highest in a single year, linked to arrests now culminating in convictions.
The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) reported on 21 December 2025 that Saudi Arabia broke its historical record with 347 executions by that date, warning the final tally could exceed this due to transparency deficits, with practices involving torture, denied family farewells, and burials. ESOHR highlighted alarming trends, including resumed executions of child defendants like Jalal al-Labbad and Abdullah al-Derazi, despite international pleas, the first since Mustafa al-Darwish in 2021. Reprieve, a UK-based group, documented at least 356 executions by late December 2025, with 240 of foreign nationals for drug crimes driving the crisis.
Wikipedia’s entry on capital punishment in Saudi Arabia, updated with 2025 data, lists 356 executions, noting 180 in the first half alone, outpacing 2024’s pace. Amnesty International’s July 2025 report detailed a decade-long pattern, with 1,816 executions from 2014 to June 2025, nearly one-third (597) for drugs—75% foreign nationals—despite international law prohibiting death for such non-lethal offences. In 2024, Amnesty recorded 345 executions, 35% (122) drug-related, the highest since 1990 tracking began.
Drug Offences Dominate Surge
Official Saudi data, per AFP tallies, showed 243 drug-related executions in 2025, up from 222 in 2024, fuelling the record. ESOHR specified 69% (238) of 347 executions as drug-related, with 97 for hashish alone versus 15 in 2024, expanding capital offences. Amnesty noted judges’ discretionary ta’zir punishments escalated to death in non-lethal cases, with 122 such in 2024 and 118 by mid-2025.
Reprieve emphasised foreign nationals as key targets: 94% of 202 foreigners executed by ESOHR were for non-lethal drugs, amid trial violations like discrimination. Saudi Arabia’s anti-narcotics campaign, targeting Captagon—a Syrian export under Bashar al-Assad—expanded checkpoints, seizing millions of pills and arresting traffickers, but critics decry disproportionate penalties.
Contradictions with Vision 2030 Pledges
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman promised in a 2018 Time magazine interview to curb executions, replacing them with life sentences in many cases. In March 2022’s Atlantic interview, he claimed death penalties limited to murder, at victims’ families’ discretion. ESOHR deemed 2025’s surge a “structural contradiction” to these commitments, collapsing the human rights reform narrative. The International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) in April 2025 noted 2024’s 345 as the highest in 30 years, with 35% drugs and 75% foreigners among them.
FIFA Human Rights Standards Under Scrutiny
FIFA’s hosting requirements, per its Human Rights Policy, mandate due diligence on labour rights, transparency, and freedoms, as challenged in a May 2025 ESPN-reported complaint by lawyers alleging Saudi abuses ahead of the 2034 bid award. Human Rights Watch warned on 11 December 2024 that Saudi hosting risks lives, exposing FIFA’s empty human rights promises. The Sport and Rights Alliance stated on 16 January 2025 that awarding 2034 to Saudi Arabia endangers lives and reveals governance lapses.
The New York Times reported on 10 December 2024 that FIFA bent rules for Saudi’s uncontested 2034 bid, ignoring rights concerns. Amnesty International’s Saudi page details systemic issues like unfair trials, mirroring execution cases. ALQST’s 8 January 2026 conference addressed the kingdom’s rights reality post-bid. BBC covered rights groups’ 21 December 2025 condemnations of the record executions.
Labour Rights and Migrant Workers
Foreign nationals dominated executions (57% per ESOHR, nearly 70% in drugs), paralleling kafala system exploitation for World Cup stadiums, where migrant deaths loom without reforms. FIFA demands safe conditions, yet impunity persists.
Transparency and Press Freedom Gaps
ESOHR flagged unannounced executions, denying families rights, breaching FIFA’s transparency edicts. Critics like Reprieve note silenced dissent, risking fan and media safety in 2034.
Sportswashing and Global Accountability Debates
This execution spike, post-2034 award, intensifies sportswashing accusations—using events to mask abuses, akin to Qatar 2022. ReliefWeb’s 12 January 2026 Middle East overview contextualises regional tensions, but rights groups urge FIFA’s Independent Human Rights Committee to probe. Stakeholders, including civil society (HRW, Amnesty, Reprieve, ESOHR, ALQST), fans, and nations like Norway or Germany, question ethical hosting.
ACLED’s January 2026 report ties to broader geopolitics, amplifying calls for UN or EU resolutions. FIFA President Gianni Infantino faces pressure amid 200+ organisations’ potential letters, echoing 2025 complaints.
Implications for Stakeholders
International monitors deem these developments legitimate concerns: unfair trials violate due process; drug executions defy global norms; child cases shock consciences. FIFA’s standards risk erosion without binding reforms, as Vision 2030 falters. Civil society petitions, sponsor pullouts (Adidas, Coca-Cola), and boycotts loom, testing sports governance.
The 356 figure—nearly one daily—undermines Saudi’s mega-event credentials, per HRW’s 12 January 2026 alert. As 2034 nears, accountability debates intensify, with rights groups monitoring compliance.