Saudi Arabia executes national for murder

RIYADH, May 19 (Reuters) Saudi Arabia today executed a national for killing a man in the conservative Muslim country.

Misfer bin Ali al-Khathami was executed in the Aseer region in the south after he was found guilty of murdering a Saudi man, the state-run Saudi Press Agency reported.

The execution brings to at least 67 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 AGL HT1718