Saudi Arabia executed seven people today, including five for drug trafficking, bringing the total number of executions this year to 236. Four Yemeni citizens were executed for smuggling hashish, while a Pakistani man was executed for drug trafficking. The country has become a major market for captagon, an addictive amphetamine drug. Executions of drug traffickers have been increasing since a moratorium on the death penalty for drug cases ended two years ago. Saudi Arabia executed the third highest number of prisoners in the world in 2023, according to Amnesty International.