Two rapists were beheaded on Wednesday for kidnapping a woman, raping her, and stealing her mobile phone and money, Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry announced.
The two, Bilal Ahmad Bin ‘Ali Muhammad and Na’sir Bin Hasan Bin Muhammad Hazazi, admitted to their crimes, which also included drinking alcohol.
The execution took place in a public square in the capital Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia is one of the only countries that still practices beheadings as a method of capital punishment, according to Amnesty International, although there have been reports of similar-type executions in Yemen, Iran and in Iraq during Saddam Hussein’s reign.
Some of the crimes that warrant the death penalty in Saudi Arabia are robbery, apostasy (renunciation of one’s faith), drug trafficking, adultery and murder.
The fragmented figures available suggest that the number of beheadings in Saudi Arabia has dropped considerably over the past few years. According to Amnesty, at least 123 people were executed in Saudi Arabia in 2000, 79 in 2001, 48 in 2002 and at least 50 in 2003. It is reported that at least 35 people were beheaded in 2004, and 60 so far in 2005.