'Frightening milestone': Saudi Arabia hits 2,000 executions since King Salman took power

Saudi Arabia has executed 2,000 people since King Salman's 2015 ascension, a fivefold increase in the annual rate that starkly contradicts Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's promises of reform. | Contesto: cronaca

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• 'Frightening milestone': Saudi Arabia hits 2,000 executions since King Salman took power

Contesto

Saudi Arabia has carried out its 2,000th execution since King Salman bin Abdulaziz assumed the throne in 2015, a grim tally that human rights campaigners are calling a "frightening milestone." According to data from the rights group Reprieve, the milestone was reached last week, capping an 11-year period during which the kingdom's use of capital punishment has accelerated dramatically. The average annual execution rate has increased fivefold compared to the five years preceding King Salman's rule, with at least 356 people put to death in 2025 and 345 in 2024. The surge in executions stands in stark contrast to the public narrative of social reform and modernization championed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler since 2017. "Mohammed bin Salman uses the death penalty as a tool of political control," said Jeed Basyouni of Reprieve. "The skyrocketing of executions over the past two years demonstrates Saudi Arabia's pattern of utilising periods of international crisis as cover for human rights violations." A majority of the executions last year—232—were for drug-related offences, a category for which Saudi Arabia resumed executions in late 2022 after a three-year pause. Recent cases highlight the political and sectarian dimensions of the kingdom's capital punishment regime. Last week, two Shia citizens from Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province were executed on terrorism charges. A week prior, Saudi authorities executed businessman Saud al-Faraj for his participation in anti-government protests in 2011 in the Shia-majority region of Qatif. Faraj, 42, was convicted in 2022 of running a terrorist cell and killing police officers, charges he long denied, claiming he was tortured into a confession and held in solitary confinement for 21 months. His execution underscores the long shadow cast by the Arab Spring protests and the severe penalties meted out to those who participated. Rights groups describe a "regressive human rights trajectory" marked by the crossing of long-standing red lines. "Despite the crown prince’s repeated promises to curb the use of the death penalty, the reality has only worsened, both in scale and scope," said Julia...

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Categoria: cronaca