Saudi beheads man for murder

Sunday's was the third execution of the year in Saudi Arabia after the authorities beheaded a Sri Lankan maid on Wednesday who was convicted of murdering her employer's baby.

Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens in Eastern Province on Sunday after he was convicted of murder, the interior ministry announced.

Eid al-Dhufairi stabbed fellow Saudi Abdulaziz al-Mutairi during a dispute, said the statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

Sunday's was the third execution of the year in Saudi Arabia after the authorities beheaded a Sri Lankan maid on Wednesday who was convicted of murdering her employer's baby.

That case caused widespread international condemnation and from rights groups as the maid, Rizana Nafeek, was only 17 when she was charged with murdering the baby a week after arriving in the country in 2005.

She was found guilty of smothering the infant after an argument with the child's mother.

Last year, the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom beheaded 76 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The US-based Human Rights Watch put the number at 69.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict version of sharia, or Islamic law.

AFP