Saudi authorities behead Pakistani convicted of drug trafficking

Saudi authorities beheaded a Pakistani man Thursday convicted of smuggling heroin into the kingdom, the Interior Ministry said. In a statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency, the ministry said that Bahrour Sadbar Khan was executed in the capital, Riyadh. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery are executed in public with a sword. Thursday's execution brought to 129 the number of people beheaded in the kingdom this year, according to an Associated Press count. Saudi Arabia beheaded 38 people last year and 83 people in 2005.