Saudis double 2006 beheading count
Pastor Dale Morgan
*Saudis double 2006 beheading count*
From correspondents in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
May 15, 2007 11:10pm
Article from: Agence France-Presse
SAUDI authorities announced the 74th execution of the year today,
doubling the total number of beheadings carried out in 2006 less than
five months into 2007.
Saudi national Ahmed al-Harbi was beheaded near the holy city of Mecca
for stabbing compatriot Abdo al-Marhabi to death following a
disagreement, the interior ministry said.
Earlier in the day, the ministry announced the execution of Indian
national Abu Bakr Aburat in the capital Riyadh for heroin smuggling.
For the whole of 2006, 37 people were executed in the conservative Gulf
state, while 83 were put to death in 2005 and 35 the year before,
according to AFP tallies based on official statements.
Executions are usually carried out in public in Saudi Arabia, which
applies a strict form of sharia, or Islamic law.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking can all carry
the death penalty.