Human rights groups on Sept 12 condemned a sharp increase in the use of the death sentence in Saudi Arabia for drug offences after 42 people were executed for such crimes this year.
The rights groups, many of them Saudi and Egyptian, said they were “gravely fearful for the lives of hundreds of prisoners threatened with imminent execution” on the charges.
“These men are living in a state of terror since the number of executions for such offences has spiked in the past two months,” said the statement signed by 31 organisations, including the London-based Saudi rights group ALQST and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.
Since May, Saudi Arabia has executed 42 people on drug-related charges, compared to just two in 2023, according to a tally compiled by AFP based on official data.