Saudi citizen beheaded for murder of relative



RIYADH // Saudi Arabia beheaded a citizen on Monday after he was convicted of murdering a relative, the interior ministry said.

Saleh Al Zahrani was convicted of shooting Attiya Al Zahrani during a dispute, a statement carried by the official SPA news agency read.

The latest beheading in the southwestern Baha region brings the number of executions in the kingdom this year to 115, compared with 87 for all of 2014, according to AFP tallies.

Under the kingdom’s interpretation of Sharia law, drug trafficking, rape, murder, armed robbery and apostasy are all punishable by death.

The interior ministry has cited deterrence as a reason for carrying out the punishments.

* Agence France-Presse