Saudi Arabia executed a Pakistani and a Nigerian on Tuesday for drugs offences, taking to 25 the number of executions reported in the kingdom so far this year.
The official news agency said Hamza Yousef from Nigeria had been convicted of smuggling cocaine and Ijaz Khan, a Pakistani, had been convicted of receiving smuggled hashish. Both men were put to death in Makkah.
Officials have not explained a decline in executions in the first half of this year, which follows criticism by human rights groups of the high rates in previous years.