Pubdate: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune (MN) Copyright: 2000 Star Tribune Contact: 425 Portland Ave., Minneapolis MN 55488 Fax: 612-673-4359 Feedback: http://www.startribune.com/stonline/html/userguide/letform.html Website: http://www.startribune.com/ Forum: http://talk.startribune.com/cgi-bin/WebX.cgi PAKISTANI DRUG SMUGGLER BEHEADED RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A convicted Pakistani drug trafficker was beheaded Monday, the Saudi Interior Ministry said. Mir Afzal Omar Shah was arrested as he was smuggling heroin into Saudi Arabia. He was executed in the Saudi capital of Riyadh, said the ministry statement. It gave no other details. The execution brings to at least 65 the number of people beheaded in Saudi Arabia this year. At least 99 were executed last year. Punishment in Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that calls for death sentences for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery. Executions are carried out with a sword in a public square. Human rights groups have criticized the high execution rate, saying the condemned -- many of them poor migrant laborers -- have often not received a fair trial and that Islam prescribes using the death sentence sparingly. - --- MAP posted-by: Keith Brilhart