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Saudi Arabia beheads two murderers

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AFP Riyadh
Saudi authorities beheaded two citizens in Riyadh today after they were convicted of separate murders, the interior ministry announced.

Hashan al-Nutayfat shot dead fellow citizen Mohammed al-Dosari in a dispute, said the statement published by the official SPA news agency.

Another murderer, Mohammed al-Qahtani, was executed after he stabbed a fellow Saudi to death, SPA reported.

The beheadings bring to 65 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year, according to an AFP count.

In 2012, the conservative Muslim kingdom carried out 76 executions, according to a tally based on official figures. Human Rights Watch has put the number at 69.
 

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under the oil-rich Gulf state's strict version of sharia, or Islamic law.

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First Published: Sep 05 2013 | 3:35 PM IST

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