Saudi Arabia executed 47 people for terrorism, including the Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
According to information made available by Amnesty International in November 2015, at least 63 people were executed since the start of 2015 for drug-related offenses. A figure that made for at least 40 percent of the total number of executions in 2015, compared to less than four percent for drug-related executions in 2010. This figure exceeded Saudi's highest level of executions since 1995, when 192 executions were recorded.
Saudi's Interior Ministry said most of those executed on Saturday were involved in a series of attacks carried out by al-Qaida from 2003-2006.