Saudi Arabia executes three Pakistanis convicted of drug trafficking
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
The Saudi Interior Ministry says authorities have beheaded three Pakistanis convicted of drug trafficking in the kingdom.
A ministry statement says the three men were arrested in Riyadh with huge amounts of hashish and were executed Thursday. It provided no other details.
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape or armed robbery are executed in public with a sword.
Thursday's execution brings to 52 the number of beheadings in the kingdom this year, according to an Associated Press count. Saudi Arabia beheaded 137 people last year, up sharply from the 38 executed in 2006.