Saudi Arabia smashes grim execution record killing 198 people in 2024

On Saturday 28 September Saudi Arabia smashed its own grim record for number of executions in a calendar year after three executions that day took the number of people put to death in 2024 to 198.

The previous highest number of executions was in 2022, when The Gulf State executed 196 people.

“Saudi Arabia has given up the pretence around reforms on the use of the death penalty,” Jeed Basyouni, Reprieve’s Head of Death Penalty for the MENA region, told AFP.

“Promises made in recent years haven’t materialised or have even been reversed.”

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