The Saudi Arabian Government on Wednesday executed six Iranians sentenced for drug trafficking.
The Ministry of Interior in a statement, said the Iranians were put to death in Dammam, on the kingdom’s Gulf coast, for having clandestinely introduced hashish into Saudi Arabia.
It was gathered that Riyadh has executed 117 people in 2024 for drug trafficking.
In 2023, the authorities in the Gulf monarchy launched a highly publicised anti-drug campaign involving a series of raids and arrests.
The execution of traffickers has risen since the end of a moratorium on the use of the death penalty for drug charges two years ago.
Saudi Arabia severed relations with Iran in 2016 after its embassy in Tehran and consulate in Mashhad were attacked by protesters angered by the execution of the Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr.
In March 2023, diplomatic ties were restored after a rapprochement brokered by China.
According to rights group, Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia conducted the world’s third-highest number of executions in 2023, after China and Iran.
The use of the death penalty by Riyadh is regularly criticised by human rights groups.
The Saudi authorities say the death penalty is necessary to maintain public order and is only used after all appeals have been exhausted.
