CAIRO: Saudi Arabia executed 8 Bangladeshi men on Friday in Riyadh, international human rights organizations reported. According to information available, the migrant workers were beheaded in public for the alleged murder of an Egyptian man in April 2007. Executions in the conservative Gulf kingdom have resumed after the holy month of Ramadan, and Amnesty International says they are at an exceedingly high rate. “Court proceedings in Saudi Arabia fall far short of international standards for fair trial and news of these recent multiple executions is deeply disturbing,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International's Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa. “The Saudi authorities appear to have increased the number of executions in recent months, a move that puts the country at odds with the worldwide trend against the death penalty,” added Sahraoui. “The government must establish an immediate moratorium on executions in the Kingdom and commute all death sentences, with a view to abolishing the death penalty completely,” she added. According to statistics, the executions bring the total number in the country to at least 58, more than double last year. Already, at least 20 of those executed have been foreign nationals. The Bangladeshi men who were executed are Ma'mun Abdul Mannan, Faruq Jamal, Sumon Miah, Mohammed Sumon, Shafiq al-Islam, Mas'ud Shamsul Haque, Abu al-Hussain Ahmed, Mutir al-Rahman. According to reports, the Egyptian man was killed during a clash between the Bangladeshi workers and a group of men who allegedly were stealing electric cable from a building complex where the Bangladeshis worked. Three other Bangladeshis were sentenced to prison terms and flogging. Two other Saudi nationals were executed in the northern city of Tabuk, bringing the total number of executions on Friday to 10. BM
