Saudi Arabia executes three men for murder, drugs

RIYADH, May 16 (Reuters) Saudi Arabia today executed two Ethiopians for murder and a Saudi man for smuggling hashish into the conservative Muslim country.

Ali Mohamed Ali and Adel Adam Aman were executed and their bodies put on display in the Red Sea port of Jeddah after being found guilty of murdering a Saudi man during an armed robbery, the state news agency SPA said.

Jalal al-Marhoon was put to death in the Jouf province for smuggling hashish and hashish oil into the kingdom, it added.

The executions bring to at least 64 the number of people put to death in the country this year.

The sentences, usually carried out by public beheading, apply to those convicted of drug trafficking, rape, murder and other violent crimes.

Human rights groups say the punishment is draconian and reflects old customs. Saudi Arabia, which beheaded 38 people last year and 83 people in 2005, says it is strictly following the rules of Islamic law.

REUTERS ABM KN2023