S. Arabia executes man trying to smuggle drugs

Published August 31, 2015
Up to 129 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year.—AFP/File
Up to 129 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year.—AFP/File

RIYADH: Saudi authorities executed a Pakistani man on Sunday for attempting to smuggle drugs into the ultra-conservative kingdom, the interior ministry said.

Up to 129 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year, including the latest execution, compared with 87 for the whole of 2014, according to AFP tallies.

Mohammed Sharif was arrested while attempting to smuggle heroin into the country hidden in his stomach, the ministry said in a statement published on the SPA state news agency.

He was executed in the Quwaiya district, near Riyadh.

Amnesty says Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most prolific executioners, along with China, Iran, Iraq and the United States.

Published in Dawn, August 31st, 2015

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