A Saudi man was beheaded Friday for killing a compatriot during a dispute, the official Saudi Press Agency reported, cited by Reuters.
The execution raised to at least 44 the number of people put to death in the conservative Muslim kingdom this year, according to the agency.
Saudi Arabia implements strict Islamic sharia law, executing murderers, rapists and drug smugglers, usually by public beheading.
The death penalty is widely criticized by human rights groups, but the kingdom has lashed back, accusing the watchdogs of interfering in an internal issue.
“In an increase over the previous year, at least 123 people were executed, all after trials about which very little was known,” said the authors of the Amnesty International report for 2000.
“There were 34 cases of amputation during the year and flogging continued to be imposed for a wide range of offences. Arrests on political and religious grounds were continuing while people arrested in previous years remained in detention.” – Albawaba.com
