Saudi Arabia executed 170 people sentenced to death in 2023, more than the previous year, according to an AFP analysis based on Saudi government statements.

As of December 31, 2023, the kingdom had executed 170 people on death row, compared to 147 for all of 2022. In 2019, a record number of executions of 187 people was recorded.

The last executions took place on Sunday.

They targeted Saudis convicted of murder, two in Tabuk (north), one in Riyadh and another in Jazan (south), according to Saudi Interior Ministry statements quoted by the official SPA news agency.

Among the 170 people executed since the beginning of the year are 33 people “involved in terrorism” and two soldiers convicted of treason.

In 2022, Saudi Arabia executed 147 people, 81 of them in one day, which caused a wave of disapproval around the world.

Human rights activists regularly condemn executions, usually by beheading, but the authorities consider them “compatible with Sharia (Islamic law)” and necessary to “maintain public order”.

According to human rights organizations, along with China and Iran, Saudi Arabia ranks among the top three countries in the world in terms of the number of executions of people sentenced to death.

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