PHOTO: AFP
Latif Khan Nurzada, a Pakistani, was executed for trafficking heroin into the kingdom. He was executed in the holy city of Makkah, the ministry said in a statement.
A second convict, Omar bin Yahya bin Ibrahim al Barkati was tried and convicted of incest, the interior ministry said in a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency.
"He was executed as punishment for his crime and as a lesson to others," the ministry said, adding that authorities carried out the sentence in southwestern Asir region.
In a separate case, Yassir bin Hussein al Hamza was executed in northwestern Jawf region after his trial and confession for smuggling amphetamine pills, the ministry said.
According to an AFP tally, their executions bring to 16 the number of Saudis and foreigners put to death this year in the kingdom.
Four have been executed since King Salman took office last Friday after the death of his predecessor Abdullah.
Under Abdullah, the number of executions jumped from 27 in 2010 to around 80 annually, with 87 last year.
The oil-rich Gulf Arab state faces constant international criticism over its human rights record, including the use of the death penalty.
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It is amazing that the news media and the government in the US deplored some of the unfortunate beheadings by ISIS but look the other way while their most ally of ally Saudi Arabia has been busy beheading prisoners for a long time. No doubt beheading is a barbaric practice regardless who is doing it but hypocrisy is name of the game in the Western Countries. I wonder if Obama was informed while visiting Saudi Arabia, Oh, I forgot Obama is there to discuss the oil prices because low oil prices are hurting some of the smaller oil business in the US.
Let's stop giving these stories unnecessary slant - they are an example of Pak-Saudi cooperation as capital punishment had been suspended in Pakistan for a long time due to EU conditionalities. Think of it instead as outsourcing of our execution services to KSA. Besides, CII has declared use of contraceptives non-Islamic so this helps there as well.
What a double standard world. On death sentences in Pakistan they will put a ban on imports from Pakistan. Will they put a ban on oil imports from KSA. Perhaps not as it is under the umbrella of USA.
Every execution of a criminal kills thousands of bad ideas!
Cinema green-lighted Arab News 10 November 2014 The green light has been given for establishing cinema houses in Saudi Arabia, following the reported agreement of four government entities. A source said relevant authorities assigned to take this decision include the Ministry of Interior, the Supreme Commission for Tourism and Antiquities (SCTA), the General Commission for Audiovisual Media, and the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice (Haia). He said the SCTA and the audiovisual commission have a direct interest in the matter, while the other two are concerned with consultations and coordination. The first people who introduced cinema to Saudi Arabia were foreigners working in Aramco (now Saudi Aramco), during the 1930s; in the 1990s they became available to Saudis at their sports clubs. The issue of cinemas in Saudi Arabia resurfaced when a number of media sources published news that allowed the establishment of cinema houses according to Shariah rules, especially after some Saudi producers showed their movies outside Saudi Arabia, and some of them received a number of international awards.
Gulf countries receive large numbers of Saudis during the holiday seasons, achieving huge financial returns, which give private investors clear signs of the feasibility of achieving substantial financial returns. Those opposed to the establishment of cinema in the Kingdom say that Saudi society is a distinguished one, and its values and traditions do not allow such activities.
The film “Wadjda” by Saudi director Haifa Al-Mansour, which is the latest Saudi film, received three international awards during the 69th Venice Film Festival. It became the first Saudi film in the foreign language category to win the award in 2013. Wadjda, produced by Rotana and Razer films and High Look, was written and directed by Haifa Mansour, which talks about a girl who lives in Riyadh and her journey to own a bicycle.