Saudi
Arabia on Tuesday beheaded a Syrian convicted of drug trafficking, official
media said, bringing to 68 the number of people executed this year despite
international concern.
“Talal
Ali Qassem was captured smuggling a large quantity of methamphetamine.
Investigations led to his confession,” the official Saudi Press Agency
reported, citing the interior ministry. Qassem was executed in the northern
region of Jawf.
The
ministry says the government is battling narcotics “because of their great harm
to individuals and society”.
In
September, an independent expert working on behalf of the United Nations called
for an immediate moratorium on the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Christof
Heyns said that among his concerns was the obtaining of confessions under
torture.
Rape,
murder, apostasy and armed robbery are also punishable by death under the
kingdom’s strict version of Islamic sharia law.
No comments:
Post a Comment