CAIRO: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia beheaded a Pakistani man today, Tuesday, after he was convicted of smuggling heroin into the kingdom, the interior ministry said. “Salim Shah Sayed Shah, a Pakistani national, was convicted by a Saudi court of smuggling a large, unspecified amount heroin into the kingdom,” said an interior ministry statement carried by state news agency SPA. The execution took place the holy city of Mecca, a place of pilgrimmage for Muslims. The interior ministry also said that the kingdom had arrested 681 people over the past four months allegedly involved in trafficking of drugs worth around $460 million. This is the 16th beheading in Saudi Arabia this year. Amnesty International published a report that says Saudi Arabia executed 79 people in 2011. Saudi Arabia imposes a comparatively harsh interpretation of sharia law, and the death penalty is used for several crimes, including rape, apostasy, armed robbery, drug trafficking and murder. The preferred method of execution in Saudi Arabia is a public beheading by sword, followed by crucifixion.
