Saudi Arabia executes 6 convicted men by beheading

USPA News - Four men previously convicted of drug trafficking were decapitated by sword in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Monday, a day after two convicted murderers suffered the same fate elsewhere in the country, the government said on Monday. The latest executions took place on Monday when the four men, identified as Hadi bin Saleh Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, Mufreh bin Jaber Zaid Al-Yami, Ali bin Jaber Zaid Al-Yami, and Awadh bin Saleh Abdullah Al-Mutlaq, were beheaded by sword in the city of Najran in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi Interior Ministry said the men had been convicted of drug trafficking after they attempted to smuggle "a large quantity" of hashish into the kingdom. The death penalty, which was passed down by a general court, was upheld by both an Appeals Court and the Supreme Court before a royal order was issued to carry out the sentences. "The Ministry of Interior affirms that the Government of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is keen on combating narcotics due to their great harm to individuals and the society, and it warns anyone who tries to commit such actions that he will be punished according to Sharia," the ministry said. Monday`s executions followed the beheadings of two convicted murderers a day earlier in the western city of Taif. At least 32 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year, following 79 executions last year. The kingdom applies the death penalty for a large number of crimes, including drug offenses, apostasy, sorcery and witchcraft. Both witchcraft and sorcery are not defined as crimes in Saudi Arabia, but human rights organizations say such charges have previously been used to prosecute people for exercising their right to freedom of speech or religion.