public executions

Public beheadings are taking place twice daily in Saudi Arabia. A total of 45 beheadings have been carried out in the desert kingdom this year, according to an AFP tally.

Human Rights Watch expressed alarm at the surge in the number of executions in Saudi Arabia, where some 19 people were beheaded between August 4 and 20 alone. HRW said eight of those executed had been convicted of non-violent offences such as drug trafficking and 'sorcery', and described the use of the death penalty in their cases as 'particularly egregious'.