Middle East

Saudis 'consider nullifying' public beheading

Saudi daily Al-Watan says that a ministerial committee is considering fatal shootings as an alternative.
Last Modified: 12 Mar 2013 21:27
Death sentences are currently carried out by beheading in a public square in the oil-rich kingdom [AFP]

A ministerial committee is looking into formally dropping public beheadings as a method of execution in Saudi Arabia, a local newspaper has reported.

The authoritative daily Al-Watan said in its Sunday edition that the ministerial committee was considering fatal shootings as an alternative.

There was no official confirmation immediately available of the newspaper's report.

There have been calls in the kingdom for replacing public beheadings with lethal injections carried out in prisons.

The kingdom executes anyone convicted of murder, armed robbery, rape and trafficking in drugs.

It has executed 15 people so far this year, 76 last year and 79 in 2011.

Currently death sentences are carried out by beheading in a public square in the oil-rich kingdom.

118
Source:
Agencies
Topics in this article
Country
Featured on Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera's exclusive publishing of a key Guantanamo prison military document lays bare the brutality of force-feeding.
Former military official says poverty and anger in indigenous communities mean conditions for an "insurgency" are ripe.
A four-part series that gives a rare insight into the country on the move, with history in tow.
Series on the Palestinian 'catastrophe' of 1948 that led to dispossession and conflict that still endures.
Featured
China Rising
A four-part series that gives a rare insight into the country on the move, with history in tow.
Al-Nakba
Series on the Palestinian 'catastrophe' of 1948 that led to dispossession and conflict that still endures.
Syria: The War Within
Two years since the start of the uprising, rebels and Assad's forces remain locked in conflict.
China angles for Arctic power
China aims to expand its influence in the resource rich area.
Crisis in Bangladesh
Extensive coverage of war crimes tribunals and controversial calls for blasphemy laws.
join our mailing list