Beheading in Saudi Arabia

SAUDI ARABIA ORDERS PUBLIC DISPLAY OF EXECUTED FOREIGNERS

February 21, 2007: a Saudi court ordered the bodies of four Sri Lankans to be displayed in a public square after being beheaded for armed robbery, according to a government statement.
However, it was unclear if the display took place and Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said it was trying to confirm this. Saudi officials did not confirm the display, but did confirm that the four were executed and that the display was ordered by the court.
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery are publicly executed with a sword. The beheaded bodies are only displayed when there is a specific court order in cases considered particularly offensive.
The four men were convicted of “forming a criminal gang which robbed a number of companies with weapons, shooting one of them and stealing his car,” an Interior Ministry statement said. (Sources: Ap, 21/02/2007)