DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AFP) — Saudi Arabia has executed eight people in a single day, state media said, amid a surge in the use of the death penalty in the Gulf monarchy, particularly over drug-related convictions.

The official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported that four Somalis and three Ethiopians were executed on Saturday in the southern region of Najran “for smuggling hashish into the kingdom”.

One Saudi man was executed for the murder of his mother, SPA said.

Since the beginning of 2025, Saudi Arabia has executed 230 people, according to an AFP tally of official reports.

Most of those executions — 154 people — were on drug-related charges.

The pace of executions puts the kingdom on track to surpass last year’s record of 338 instances of capital punishment.

Analysts link the spike to the kingdom’s “war on drugs” launched in 2023, with many of those first arrested only now being executed following their legal proceedings and convictions.

Saudi Arabia resumed executions for drug offences at the end of 2022, after suspending the use of the death penalty in narcotics cases for around three years.

It executed 19 people in 2022, two in 2023, and 117 in 2024 for narcotics-related crimes, according to the AFP tally.

Activists say the kingdom’s continued embrace of capital punishment undermines the image of a more open, tolerant society that is central to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda.

Saudi authorities say the death penalty is necessary to maintain public order and is only used after all avenues for appeal have been exhausted.