Saudi beheads Yemeni convicted of murder

Saudi Arabia on Tuesday beheaded a Yemeni national, convicted of killing a fellow Yemeni in the kingdom, the SPA news agency reported quoting the interior ministry.

Ibrahim Zouani was convicted of clubbing to death fellow Yemeni Khalid Saafan, the ministry said, adding that he was executed in the southwestern Saudi city of Abha.

His beheading brings to 25 the total number of executions in the ultra-conservative kingdom so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official reports.

Under the AFP count, at least 76 people were beheaded in 2011 in Saudi Arabia, while rights group Amnesty International put the number of executions last year at 79.

The death penalty in Saudi Arabia applies to a wide range of offences including rape, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking, as well as murder, as stipulated by Islamic Sharia law.

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