Beheadings at ‘record levels’:

Beheadings at ‘record levels’: Saudi Arabia executes dozens in deadly August


A PERSON has been put to death in Saudi Arabia almost every day this month with the country expected to have added to that figure with the execution of its 23rd inmate yesterday.

Hajras al-Qurey will become the latest person to be executed in the last three weeks with human rights groups horrified by what they are calling a surge in executions.

The execution of al-Qurey will top off a deadly week around the world with the beheading of an Egyptian man by Libya armed groups and the execution of 18 informers by Hamas, according to Amnesty International.

Last Monday four men — two sets of brothers Hadi bin Saleh Abdullah al-Mutlaq and Awad bin Saleh Abdullah al-Mutlaq along with Mufrih bin Jaber Zayd al-Yami and Ali bin Jaber Zayd al-Yami — were beheaded.

Amnesty claims they were sentenced to death largely on false confessions they gave.

Journalist James Foley was also executed in footage which shocked the world.

A deadly August is just the tip of the iceberg for Saudi Arabia which executed more than 2000 people between 1985 and 2013, figures provided by the human rights group reveal.

According to them, trials in capital cases are often held in secret and defendants are given no or insufficient access to lawyers.

And people in Saudi can be executed for a range of crimes including adultery, armed robbery, apostasy, drug-related offences, rape, witchcraft and sorcery.

Most executions are done by beheading and many take place in public.

In some cases decapitated bodies are left lying on the ground in public squares as a “deterrent”.

http://www.news.com.au/world/middle...in-deadly-august/story-fnh81ifq-1227037172765