Sun Aug 03 16:59:27 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text and a rewritten news article based on it, suitable for an Indian audience reading The Hindu.

**Summary:**

Saudi Arabia has executed eight people on August 2nd, 2025, including four Somalis, three Ethiopians for drug smuggling and one Saudi man for murdering his mother. This brings the total number of executions in Saudi Arabia this year to 230, with a significant portion related to drug offenses. The kingdom’s increased use of capital punishment, especially for drug-related crimes, is linked to its “war on drugs” and raises concerns among activists who believe it undermines the country’s efforts to project a more progressive image.

**News Article:**

**Saudi Arabia Executes Eight Amid Surge in Drug-Related Executions**

**Dubai, August 3, 2025:** Saudi Arabia has executed eight individuals, including foreign nationals, in a single day, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). The executions, which took place on Saturday in the Najran region, included four Somalis and three Ethiopians convicted of smuggling hashish into the kingdom. A Saudi national was also executed for the murder of his mother.

This latest round of executions brings the total number of people put to death in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of 2025 to a staggering 230, according to an AFP tally. A concerning 154 of these executions were for drug-related offenses, indicating a sharp increase in the use of capital punishment for such crimes.

The surge in executions has been linked to the kingdom’s “war on drugs,” initiated in 2023. Critics argue that the kingdom’s intensified crackdown, resulting in more arrests and convictions, is driving the surge in executions. While the death penalty for drug offenses was briefly suspended, it was resumed in late 2022.

Activists are voicing concerns that this continued reliance on capital punishment undermines Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s Vision 2030 reform agenda, which aims to present a more open and tolerant Saudi Arabia to the world. They argue that these executions paint a contradictory picture of a nation striving for modernization and international appeal.

Saudi authorities maintain that the death penalty is a necessary measure to maintain public order and is only applied after all avenues of appeal have been exhausted. However, the kingdom’s high execution rate continues to draw criticism from human rights organizations and international observers.

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