Pubdate:  Sat, 30 Aug 1997

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (Reuter)  Saudi Arabia Friday beheaded two men,
and Afghan and an Indian, for smuggling drugs into the kingdom. 

An Interior Ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency
(SPA) said the Afghan was executed in the capital Riyadh after the court
found him guilty of smuggling opium into the kingdom. 

A separate statement from the ministry said the Indian man was beheaded in
the Red Sea port city of Jeddah in the Mecca Province after being convicted
of smuggling hashish and opium. 

The two executions raised to 87 the number of people beheaded in the
conservative kingdom so far this year. 

Saudi Arabia applies Islamic sharia law by publicly beheading by the sword
convicted murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and other criminals.