RIYADH- Saudi Arabia today beheaded a Pakistani for heroin smuggling, the 12th man from Pakistan to be executed in the kingdom for drug trafficking since October. The sentence against Ismail Khan Sayed was carried out in Eastern Province after his conviction for smuggling a large amount of heroin, the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia has one of the world's highest execution tolls. Saudi authorities seized huge quantity of raw heroin during the Islamic calendar year that ended in October, according to the Interior Ministry. [end]
RIYADH - Saudi Arabian police have arrested six people and seized illegal drugs worth SR1 billion ($267 million) that were being smuggled into the country from neighboring Bahrain, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday. Spokesman Major General Mansour Turki said five Saudi citizens and one Bahraini had been detained in the operation after police uncovered 22.6 million amphetamine pills hidden inside coils of barbed wire and rolls of plastic. An investigation into the seizure of the drugs turned up a connection to an international drug smuggling ring led by a Syrian national, Turki told the Saudi Press Agency. [continues 147 words]
DAMMAM - The anti-drug administration is currently studying the possibility of reinstating drug addicts and dealers to their military or civilian jobs after they finish rehabilitation and serve their jail sentences. Director General of the Drug Combat Department in the Eastern Province Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al-Jameel disclosed this while inaugurating an exhibition in Al-Shatie Mall in Dammam to commemorate the International Day Against Drugs. Maj. Gen. Al-Jameel said his department couldn't force any military or civilian authority to reinstate repentant drug dealers or addicts even if he has served his penalty and was awarded a certificate of good conduct from Al-Amal hospitals or Saudi prisons, Al-Eqtisadiah newspaper reported Thursday. [continues 370 words]
RIYADH - Four Saudis were beheaded by the sword on Monday after being convicted of rape and murder, while an Iraqi and a Pakistani nationals were executed for drug trafficking, the interior ministry said. The six beheadings -- one of the highest numbers of executions in one day -- brought to 72 the number of executions announced by the Saudi authorities this year, almost double the figure in 2006. The four Saudis were among a group of five who lured youngster Fahdbin Mazyad al-Harbi into an unfinished building where they sodomised him, the ministry said in a statement carried by the SPA state news agency. [continues 207 words]
JEDDAH, 18 October 2006 -- Prince Turki ibn Talal, chairman of the board of trustees of Mentor Arabia, has emphasized the role of his organization in protecting young men and women from drug abuse and promoting their health and well-being. Mentor, a non-profit and non-government organization, has positively affected the lives of more than a million children in 40 countries over the last 10 years. It seeks to undertake, identify, support and share information on proven and promising practices that effectively prevent or protect children and young people from drugs. [continues 181 words]
PARIS -- A Saudi prince went on trial in his absence in Paris yesterday, accused of being involved in a plot to use his private jet to smuggle $92 million of cocaine into Europe. Prince Nayef al-Chaalan faces charges relating to his alleged participation in, or organization of, an operation to fly nearly 2 tons of the drug to an airfield six miles from Paris from Colombia. He failed to appear at a preliminary hearing last month, citing "vital professional reasons," and is liable to arrest under an international warrant. [continues 204 words]
JEDDAH, 27 May 2006 -- Drug dealers are targeting high school, college and university students using new and ingenious methods. According to a report in Al-Watan, students under the pressure of exams are being offered drugs by dealers who say the pills would help keep them awake and enhance brainpower to study and read textbooks. The most common of these pills is Captagon, the commercial name for the drug fenetylline, a stimulant used to curb attention deficit problems in mentally disabled patients. [continues 526 words]
During the difficult years that preceded the British handover of Hong Kong to China, the Chinese government's intense antipathy to opium and the still fresh memories of the evil that eighteenth century buccaneering Britain had inflicted on China and Hong Kong added an extra emotional charge to what, anyway, was a most complicated transition. Without opium there would have been no Hong Kong. The British only acquired it because of the Opium Wars, and the city's early economic success was built on the opium trade. [continues 718 words]
Riyadh, Asharq Al-Awsat - Smuggling operations in Saudi Arabia have drastically changed in the last three years with border patrols seizing an unprecedented amount of weapons, explosives and drugs. According to security sources, drug dealing, terrorism and money laundering are closely related as aborted smuggling operations in the Kingdom have revealed. Terrorism, sources point out, requires financing. International measures adopted to curb the access of terrorists to funds mean they can no longer rely on mainstream financial institutions such as banks and charity organizations. Instead, they resort to smuggling money, sometimes in partnership with criminal networks to protect themselves from security crackdowns. In many cases, terrorist networks provide drugs in exchange for money, arms, ammunitions, and logistical support which criminal gangs are renowned for, such as forging documents, transporting illicit substances, and hiding them. [continues 507 words]
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed a Sudanese man convicted of smuggling drugs to the kingdom, the Interior Ministry said. The ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency that Mohammed Ahmed bin Abdullah Adam was executed in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah. The Gulf Arab state, which implements strict Islamic Sharia law, executes convicted murderers, rapists and drug traffickers, usually by public beheading. Saturday's execution brought to at least 37 the number of people put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year -- more than the number of recorded executions last year. [end]
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia executed on Monday two Thais and a Pakistani convicted of drug smuggling, said the Interior Ministry. The two Thai men were found guilty of smuggling and selling hashish, while the Pakistani was convicted of swallowing packets of heroin and smuggling them into the country. The conservative kingdom executes convicted murderers, rapists and drug smugglers, usually by public beheading with a sword. Monday's executions, in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, brought to six the number of people put to death this year. [end]
Substance addiction is an alarming yet familiar phenomenon among students during exam times. Many students take the stimulants believing that vitality, wakefulness and energy will be theirs if they take the stimulants, known as "pep pills" or "energy pills". "I've been taking pep pills or captagon at exam time since I was in junior high school," said Wael who will graduate from high school this year and hopes to go to medical school. "Sure, they tense me up on a long-term basis, and after exams it gets harder and harder to unwind but I need to be on the alert during exams." [continues 333 words]
TWO drug smugglers were beheaded in Saudi Arabia yesterday despite protests from Western governments and human rights groups. The New Year's Day executions were carried out in public by sword of the men, who had been found guilty of smuggling heroin and cannabis into the country. Pakistani Mohammed Amin Abdullah Jan was beheaded in Jeddah and Mattar bin Hussein bin Bakhit al-Khazaali, an Iraqi, in the northern town of Arar, close to the Iraqi border. Saudi Arabia, which follows strict Islamic law, put 35 people to death last year, and at least 52 the year before. [continues 84 words]
RIYADH: An Iraqi and a Pakistani were beheaded on Saturday in Saudi Arabia after being convicted of drug trafficking, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Matar bin Hussein bin Bakheit al-Khazaali, an Iraqi national, was executed in the northern town of Arar, after attempting to smuggle an undisclosed amount of hashish into the ultra-conservative kingdom, the statement carried by SPA official news agency said. Meanwhile, Pakistani Mohammad Amin Abdullah Khan was beheaded in the Red Sea city of Jeddah after he was found smuggling an undisclosed amount of heroin "which he had swallowed". [end]
RIYADH, 20 December 2004 -- In a major move to curb the growing menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse, Saudi Arabia's Shoura Council has formulated and approved new draft rules and regulations. The new rules aimed at curbing drug abuse and trafficking in the country within the framework of the Islamic Shariah laws were approved at a full-fledged Shoura session presided over by Dr. Saleh ibn Humaid, chairman of the Shoura Council here yesterday. "The draft regulations to curb drug trafficking and abuse will be submitted to the Saudi Cabinet for final endorsement before they are enacted as laws", said Dr. Hamoud ibn Abdul Aziz Al-Badr, Shoura's secretary-general. The move to introduce new legislation is intended to provide more strength to the network of government agencies and the judicial system to fight this social evil in Saudi Arabia, which is increasingly becoming a favorable destination for drug peddlers. [continues 201 words]
TWO Iraqis were beheaded in the northern Saudi town of Arar after being convicted of drug trafficking, the interior ministry said today. Mohammed bin Ali Bohan al-Salami and Faisal bin Karim bin Alwan al-Shablawi were convicted of smuggling an undisclosed amount of hashish, said a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. The executions take to 30 the number of beheadings announced by Saudi authorities so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official statements. [continues 51 words]
RIYADH - Three Pakistanis were executed by the sword in the Red Sea city of Jeddah on Friday after being convicted of drug trafficking, Saudi Arabia's interior ministry said. Elias Ahmad Bashir was convicted of attempting to smuggle heroin into the kingdom while compatriots Dawai Khan Bashir and Mohammad Zaher Khan were found guilty of receiving the drugs, said a statement carried by the official SPA news agency. The executions takes to 28 the number of beheadings announced by Saudi authorities so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official statements. [continues 52 words]
RIYADH - Saudi Arabian police have nabbed a gang of smugglers as they tried to bring 40 kilograms of hashish across the southern Saudi border with Yemen. Saudi daily Okaz said the smugglers were spotted by heat sensors spread along the border and arrested them after a long chase in the province of Najran. "It is a great achievement of the security forces in the region," said Najran's governor, Prince Mishaal bin Saud. "The efforts of the border guards resulted in preventing our youth from having access to those poisons," he added. [end]
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia executed three drug traffickers on Sunday, beheading the men in public in a northern city. The three Saudi security guards had been convicted of trafficking hashish using government vehicles, the Interior Ministry said. Khamis bin Mabrouk al-Sayeri, Nasser bin Mohammed al-Fahadi and Zidan al-Oqaili al-Anzi were beheaded in the northern border city of Arar, according to the ministry. They had been arrested loading an undisclosed amount of hashish into border guard vehicles. Sunday's executions bring to 13 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia in 2004. Last year at least 52 people, mostly drug smugglers, were beheaded. Under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic law, people convicted of drug trafficking, murder, rape and armed robbery are executed. The beheadings are carried out in public with a sword. [end]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Three Saudi security guards were beheaded in northern Saudi Arabia on Sunday after being convicted of trafficking hashish and using government vehicles to transport the drug, the Interior Ministry said. Khamis bin Mabrouk al-Sayeri, Nasser bin Mohammed al-Fahadi and Zidan al-Oqaili al-Anzi were arrested loading an undisclosed amount of hashish into vehicles belonging to Saudi border guards, officials said. The guards were later convicted of drug trafficking and breaching the state's trust for using the vehicles. [continues 84 words]
RIYADH - Saudi security forces made the kingdom's largest ever drug bust, foiling a bid to smuggle in more than five tons of hashish, a newspaper reported Tuesday, citing drug enforcement agency officials. "The Drug Combating Department in the Riyadh region, in cooperation with the customs at the dry port in Riyadh, foiled an attempt to smuggle 5,200 kilograms (11,464 pounds) of hashish into the kingdom," on Monday, Arab News quoted the departments director as saying. Eight suspects, "seven from an east Asian country and one Arab," were arrested as they attempted to receive the cargo at a warehouse, said Major General Othman al-Assaf. [continues 67 words]
RIYADH, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has arrested more than 4,000 people and seized large quantities of weapons and drugs in the south of the country, along the border with Yemen, the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Saturday. The agency did not say over what time the arrests and the seizures were made in the Najran province. Both Yemen and Saudi Arabia are combating Islamic militants believed to be linked to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda. [continues 101 words]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- A Saudi drug trafficker was beheaded Sunday, a Ministry of Interior statement said. Dhaher bin Thamer al-Shimry was convicted of smuggling marijuana into the kingdom, the statement said. Al-Shimry was beheaded in the eastern province of Hafr al-Baten, bringing the number of beheadings in the kingdom this year to 41, most of them drug traffickers. At least 49 people were beheaded last year. This conservative country follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of drug trafficking, murder, rape and armed robbery are executed. Beheadings are carried out with a sword in public. [end]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP)-- Two days after Canadian William Sampson was spared a death sentence and released from a Saudi jail, the Mideast kingdom beheaded two foreigners convicted of drug trafficking, the official Saudi Press Agency reported yesterday. Lal Rahman Habiballah Khan of Pakistan was arrested while smuggling heroin to Saudi Arabia, according to SPA. He was executed in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Asadallah bin Mohammed Jan bin Rahim Dad of Afghanistan was also beheaded yesterday in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah. He had been convicted of trying to smuggle heroin into the kingdom, SPA said. [continues 147 words]
RIYADH (AFP)- A Pakistani and an Afghan were beheaded by the sword in Saudi Arabia on Sunday for smuggling drugs, the kingdom's interior ministry said. Lal Rahman Habibullah Khan of Pakistan was caught smuggling heroin into the kingdom and convicted of drug trafficking, said a ministry statement quoted by the official SPA news agency. He was executed in the capital Riyadh. Afghan national Assadullah bin Mohammed Jan bin Rahim Dad, known as Mohammed Nabi Hamsha, was also found guilty of smuggling heroin and executed in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, the ministry said. [continues 73 words]
RIYADH - Saudi Arabia, which implements strict Islamic sharia law, executed an Iraqi man on Sunday for smuggling hashish into the kingdom, the Interior Ministry said. The conservative Gulf state executes murderers, rapists and drug smugglers, usually by public beheading. The execution raised to at least three the number of people reported to have been put to death in the kingdom so far this year. At least 45 people were executed last year, 75 people in 2001 and 121 in 2000. [end]
Nineteen people in Riyadh have died and 17 hospitalized after drinking cologne containing methanol, news reports said Sunday. Drinking alcohol is banned in Saudi Arabia and punishable by lashings, fines and prison terms. Some people drink cologne as an alcohol substitute. [end]
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia - The sword falls swiftly on a drug dealer's neck in the kingdom of the Sauds. There is nothing secret or ambiguous about the policy. Even before visitors land on Saudi soil, entry forms state in red letters in English and Arabic that trafficking in drugs is punished by death. Thirty-five convicted drug traffickers were executed in 2000, beheaded in public squares. The government says the harsh punishment and the kingdom's relative isolation from drug sources make drug addiction less severe than in countries like Iran or Pakistan. [continues 785 words]
JIDDA, Saudi Arabia, Feb. 4 - The sword falls swiftly on a drug dealer's neck in the kingdom of the Sauds. There is nothing secret or ambiguous about the policy. Even before visitors land on Saudi soil, entry forms state in red letters in English and Arabic that trafficking in drugs is punished by death. Beheadings are routinely conducted in public squares, the details chronicled in the press. Thirty-five convicted drug traffickers were executed in 2000, in most cases after swift, secret trials without lawyers or juries. [continues 1142 words]
Executioners beheaded a Saudi man for raping boys and an Indian for drug trafficking, the Interior Ministry said, bringing the number of people beheaded this year to at least 74. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that demands the death penalty for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery. Executions are carried out in public with a sword. (Associated Press) [end]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia on Friday beheaded a Saudi man for raping boys and an Indian for drug trafficking, the Interior Ministry said. In the capital Riyadh, Saudi citizen Dowaihi bin Mohammed al-Qahtani was executed after he was convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping and raping boys, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. Seyed bin Mahboub Amir, from India, was executed in Riyadh for smuggling an unspecified quantity of heroin into the kingdom, according to the statement. [continues 59 words]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia -- A Nigerian man was beheaded Thursday for smuggling cocaine, the Saudi Interior Ministry said. Ibrahim bin Muhammad bin Dan Azumi was carrying the drug inside his body, according to the ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency. The ministry did not say in which part of his body the drugs were found or the amount. He was executed in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah. The ministry did not say at what port of entry he was arrested, but executions generally take place in the city where the crime was committed. [continues 55 words]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - A Pakistani convicted of drug trafficking was beheaded in Saudi Arabia on Thursday, the Interior Ministry said. Sayf Al-Rahman Abdul-Jabar was found guilty of smuggling an unspecified quantity of heroin into the kingdom and was beheaded in the Saudi capital Riyadh, the ministry said in a statement. Thursday's beheading was at least the 125th in Saudi Arabia this year. At least 99 people were beheaded last year. The record number of beheadings in one year in Saudi Arabia was 191 in 1995. [continues 64 words]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A Pakistani convicted of drug trafficking was beheaded in Saudi Arabia yesterday, the Interior Ministry said. Sayf Al-Rahman Abdul-Jabar was found guilty of smuggling an unspecified quantity of heroin into the kingdom, the ministry said in a statement. Yesterday's beheading was at least the 125th in Saudi Arabia this year. [end]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A Nigerian man convicted of smuggling heroin and cocaine into the country was beheaded Monday, the Interior Ministry said. Issa Mohammed Adam was executed in the western city of Jiddah for smuggling undisclosed quantities of the drug. There was no more information provided. Monday's execution brings to at least 90 the number of people beheaded in the kingdom this year. At least 99 people were executed last year. Executions are carried out with a sword in a public square. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law, which prescribes death sentences for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery. The executions have been criticized by human rights organizations. They say Saudi Arabia often fails to give the accused fair trials and that Islam calls for limiting the use of execution as punishment. [end]
DUBAI, AUG 23. Saudi Arabia today executed an Indian convicted of smuggling drugs into the kingdom. The official Saudi Press Agency quoted an Interior Ministry statement as saying the man was found guilty of smuggling an unspecified amount of heroin. The execution brings to at least 85 the number of people put to death this year for murder, rape and drug smuggling. - - Reuters [end]
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. [end]
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (AP)--A Syrian man convicted of smuggling cocaine into Saudi Arabia was executed Sunday, the Interior Ministry said. A statement said Hussam Kamal Shaheen was beheaded in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah. It gave no other details. The execution brings to at least 63 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 mandates 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 condemned the high execution rate, saying Islam prescribes using the punishment sparingly. [end]
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed a Pakistani man and a Nigerian for drugs smuggling and a Filipino for attempted murder. The executions, reported by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA), brought to at least 48 the number of people put to death in the conservative kingdom so far this year. An Interior Ministry statement carried by SPA said the Filipino man had been sentenced to death for stabbing and seriously wounding a taxi driver outside the Red Sea port city of Jeddah with the aim of stealing his car. He was executed in Jeddah. [continues 86 words]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A Pakistani convicted of heroin smuggling was beheaded in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Monday, the Interior Ministry said. Eissa Khan Saeed-Allah was found guilty of smuggling an unspecified amount of heroin into the kingdom. The execution, carried out with a sword in a public square, brings the number of people beheaded in the kingdom this year to 38. At least 99 people were executed last year. Murder, armed robbery, drug smuggling and sexual crimes are punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic laws, which also call for the amputation of hands and feet of thieves. Human rights organizations have criticized the executions and amputations, saying the accused do not receive fair trials. [end]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - A Saudi convicted of drug smuggling was beheaded Monday in northern Saudi Arabia, an Interior Ministry statement said. Amer al-Roueili was executed in the province of al-Jouf, said the statement. He was convicted of smuggling hashish and other drugs to Saudi Arabia, said the statement. It said al-Roueili was also found guilty of financing drug smugglers. It did not give any other details. The execution, carried out with a sword in a public square, brought the number of people beheaded in the kingdom this year to 25. At least 99 people were executed last year. Saudi Arabia's interpretation of Islamic law mandates the death penalty for murder, rape, drug trafficking, sodomy or armed robbery. Human rights organizations complain that the accused often are denied access to lawyers and do not receive fair trials. [end]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- A Nigerian and a Pakistani were beheaded Friday in Saudi Arabia for smuggling heroin into the kingdom, according to the Interior Ministry. Idrees Issa Mohammed of Nigeria was executed in the port city of Jiddah, and Taj Khan Gul Akbar Khan, a Pakistani, was beheaded in the capital, Riyadh. The ministry did not specify the amount of drugs involved in either conviction. Fifty-five people have been executed in the kingdom so far this year, compared to 29 in all of 1998. Human rights groups have criticized Saudi Arabia's executions, claiming suspects generally do not receive fair trials. The kingdom's Islamic courts impose death sentences for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery. Executions usually are carried out with a sword in public. [end]
JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) A Pakistani man was beheaded today in Saudi Arabia for trying to smuggle drugs into the country, an Interior Ministry statement said. Gholam Abbas Ali Nawaz was executed by sword in the western city of Mecca after noon prayers for trying to enter the country with an unspecified amount of heroin, the statement said. Eleven people have been executed so far this year. Last year, 29 people were beheaded. Saudi Arabia's Islamic courts impose death sentences for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery. Executions usually are carried out with a sword in public. Human rights groups have criticized the executions, claiming suspects generally do not receive fair trials, are denied lawyers and do not have the right to appeal. [end]
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) -- Muslim men may use the anti-impotence drug Viagra if it does not contain any intoxicating substances, Saudi Arabia's top cleric said in remarks published Saturday. ``Using a drug that helps sexual intercourse is permitted and there is no legal Islamic prohibition, provided it does not contain ingredients that may harm health or intoxicate,'' the Arabic-language newspaper Okaz quoted Sheik Abdul-Aziz bin Baz as saying. Bin Baz gave his opinion in response to a question after he delivered a lecture on Friday evening in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. Saudi newspapers have said authorities were planning to register the drug. Viagra has been selling on the local black market at $80 a pill, eight times its price in the United States. - --- Checked-by: Melodi Cornett [end]
The beheadings raised to 110 the number of people executed so far this year in the conservative kingdom. A total of 68 people were beheaded in 1996. An Interior Ministry statement, carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, said the two Nigerians were executed near the Islamic holy city of Mecca after being convicted of smuggling heroin in their stomachs. The Afghan national was also beheaded near Mecca. Saudi Arabia applies Islamic sharia law by publicly beheading by the sword convicted murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and other criminals. The practice has come in for international criticism in light of a possible death sentence against a British nurse charged with murdering an Australian colleague in Saudi Arabia in December. [end]
An Interior Ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency said the woman was executed in the Western port city of Jeddah for smuggling heroin into the kingdom. She was the second woman to be put to death in Saudi Arabia this year. On June 30, another Nigerian woman was executed on drugs charges. In another statement carried by the agency, the Interior Ministry said the Pakistani man had been found guilty of smuggling an unspecified amount of heroin into Saudi Arabia. He was beheaded by the sword in the capital Riyadh. [continues 95 words]
An Interior Ministry statement read on Saudi television said the Indian man was executed near Mecca after a court found him guilty of smuggling an unspecified quantity of the drug into the conservative kingdom. A separate ministry statement said the Filipino, also beheaded near Mecca, had been convicted of stabbing to death an Egyptian man following a dispute. Saudi Arabia applies Islamic sharia law by publicly beheading by the sword convicted murderers, rapists, drug traffickers and other criminals. A total of 68 people were beheaded last year. 10:17 091297 [end]
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. [end]
Inside Saudi Arabia
