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RIYADH: Saudi Arabia beheaded a Pakistani national on Wednesday in the holy city of Medina after convicting him of drug smuggling, the interior ministry said.
Bashir Khamis Ahmad was found guilty of trying to smuggle large quantities of heroin into the kingdom, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.
The beheading brings to 60 the number of people executed in Saudi Arabia so far this year, according to an AFP tally based on official reports.
Amnesty International says 79 people were put to death in the Gulf kingdom last year.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under its strict version of sharia, or Islamic law.
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Comments (67) Closed
Sep 19, 2012 11:32am
it is so ironic that those who bring the drugs in the Kingdom gets beheaded. for whom the drug comes for???? are scot free. !!!!!!!
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Sep 19, 2012 11:31am
not "hundreds" my friend... infact not even 100. read carefully please. And you think drug trafficking is a small crime? really? I hope you know Saudi Arabia is not the only country with capital punishment on drug trafficking
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Sep 19, 2012 11:27am
condemn what??? punishing a crime?
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Sep 21, 2012 12:42am
they will not,because they cant get these kind of slaves from anywhere in 21st century.This is their culture to keep ghulams and laundis.So they still do it.
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Sep 19, 2012 11:12am
Besides the nature of punishment, everyone who is caught knows the rules in the Kingdom, so why do it.
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Sep 19, 2012 12:29pm
no bec it is a right thing to do to stop these crimes....
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Sep 19, 2012 02:13pm
And what about the person who is destroying so many young lives and killing them with drugs every day just for money. This is the right punishment for sure.
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Sep 19, 2012 02:19pm
Listen all, Singapore also has death penalty, in fact a few other asian countries are joining the list, so does that mean Singapore is a conservative country? The law is there so that the country remains out from this menace, and also Arab addicts are treated in rehab. We all know what the arab people are notorious for doing overseas but they keep the mess away from their country.
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Sep 19, 2012 09:54am
Even as they behead hundreds every year there in no actual stop of these crimes.
May be time to retrospect what there harsh treatment of small-time criminals is achieving.
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Sep 19, 2012 09:46am
Thats Cruel...!!!
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Sep 19, 2012 09:28am
How many saudi's ever convicted or beheaded?? why only Pakistani or Bangladeshi's?
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Sep 20, 2012 10:27am
Really, now there will be no more smuggling eh?
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Sep 20, 2012 10:26am
If prevention was possible through the implementation of barbaric laws, this incident of smuggling would not have happened.
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Sep 20, 2012 12:10pm
if ppl follw this....there will always be no mercy or forgiveness.were already seeing the rise of minority abuse through blasphemy laws of shariah.it will produce more fascism and extremism.
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Sep 20, 2012 09:00am
That is indeed cruel because you can bring back a criminal to normal life by keeping him in prison or undergoing him to rehab exercises , etc... he may see the light of living a positive life and contribute to betterment of society. By beheading,what difference remain between kingdom and the murderers?
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Sep 20, 2012 08:58am
i dont think so...
contrary to what you might think, the common man would live in a state of fear.. because there has to be a balance in society. Imposing strict laws are suited to only a set of human beings.
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Sep 20, 2012 08:08am
I don't understand why Pakistanis people do that , I think literacy rate should be increased in Pakistan , secondly one should know that he is destroying Pakistan image outside in other countries . thirdly Saudi Govt. should strict its visa policy .
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Sep 20, 2012 07:52am
I m NOT supporting crime dear but I am against such cruel & harsh punishment. There r other civilized way of giving death sentence.
Though In my opinion, this is not that heinous crime which deserve death penalty.
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Sep 20, 2012 07:39am
Not sure how many but in the last one month i have read about 5 saudis in the news paper. 3 for armed robbrey and 2 for murder.
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Sep 20, 2012 07:38am
This is the reason saudi arabia has less crime rate in the world as compared to other countries of the world.
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Sep 20, 2012 07:38am
There are many saudis who were convicted.
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Sep 20, 2012 04:52am
Did Saudi become peaceful country to live in?
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Sep 20, 2012 04:24am
LOOK AND LEARN LESSON
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Sep 20, 2012 04:16am
Because Saudi's dont smuggle. Its south Asians mainly who want to be rich overnight.
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Sep 20, 2012 03:58am
double game ,saudi never respect any person other than citizen,also impose and insist their coulture to follow.discrimination been paved with, causing trouble to the world peace
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Sep 20, 2012 03:36am
Saudis have different rules for Caucasians & Asians and generally Asians are given harder sentences. Caucasians mostly escape with lighter sentences or their cases do not come into public purview because of the pressure they exert on Saudis.
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Sep 20, 2012 02:57am
This is the right thing to do...
The correct way to punish...
It instills a fear of punishment in the hearts of potential criminals and deters them from the crime...
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Sep 20, 2012 02:50am
Death is NOT a punishment.It is a release from this world. If it was punishment then all the pious people in the world would not have died.
javed helali
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Sep 20, 2012 02:25am
we need this punishment for Afghani and Pak drug dealers who are ruining Pakistani youth.
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Sep 20, 2012 01:03am
My friend you are an ignorant person,almost half of these criminals are Saudis.
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Sep 20, 2012 12:51am
Singapore too has the Capital Punishment for drug trafficking which is death.
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Sep 20, 2012 12:54am
Do some research and you will find out that it's not just Pakistanis and Bangladeshis.
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Sep 19, 2012 11:46pm
oh no .. stastisitcs shows pakistanis are the most people beheaded in saudi arabis since last two decades .....
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Sep 19, 2012 11:24pm
It will serve ends of justice if those who use drugs to get high are also beheaded!
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Sep 19, 2012 11:22pm
Unfortunately its known in the Kingdom that a Saudi caught smuggling will first get a light punishment and then on his 2nd conviction will be beheaded. Is that Fair?
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Sep 19, 2012 11:13pm
It is always the poor carriers who are arrested and executed , nobody goes after the big Saudi importer, they have an unjust system prevailing in Saudi Arabia.
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Sep 19, 2012 10:52pm
their is a famous quote that "kill one to scare hundreds", also they know drug trafficking is wrong and illegal but they still do it, so the deserve the shortcut to hell.
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Sep 19, 2012 09:41pm
a drug addict in one family ruins an entire family and its dreams and people are more concerned for the man who brings this heinous substance that not only destroys one man but scars a whole family. It is precisely this attitude that our country sees murder, rape, pillage and yet there be no stopping it.... why? because there is no punishment inmost cases for whatever reason.
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Sep 19, 2012 09:41pm
perfect
this type of law must be implemented in every country to stop the crime and drug smuggling
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Sep 19, 2012 09:38pm
A law is only as good as it's enforcers and interpreters. We just saw Shariya Law in Swat and Afghanistan, at lease according to those enforcing it.
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Sep 19, 2012 09:22pm
well for those who just love sharia law ... congrats, this ones a beauty !!!
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Sep 19, 2012 08:56pm
However cruel this sounds, I do agree with this statement - in terms of murderers, drug and people/slave smugglers.
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Sep 19, 2012 08:26pm
You hit the nail Faisal.
Why convict and behead only Pakistanis and Bangladeshis?
Why convict and behead only the ones who actually bring the drugs and not the real big fishes?
Just blindly executing the harshest punishment does not stop crime. It needs a thorough and wise judgement. In Europe the problem is under control because they have well-functional police and judiciary.
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Sep 19, 2012 08:06pm
And what about the people who consume the drug??? There is supply where there is a demand. Simple economy. There are people in Saudi who takes drug for them this poor chap has smuggle the drug. What punishment for those who consume??
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Sep 19, 2012 08:04pm
That is great Job by Kingdom, They are not a simply smugglers but the dealers of death and destroying life and families, the drug not only kill single person but families and societies.
Dreadful death for the Drugs dealers, sellers and supporters.
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Sep 19, 2012 07:17pm
Yes it is distasteful but don't you know the kingdom has the lowest crime rate in the world?
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Sep 19, 2012 07:09pm
It is just because of such punishment that the crime rate is too low in kingdom...if the same law was in pakistan or india, crime rate would be low. No body has ever seen a girl publicly raped or harassed in kingdom but u can see lots of such things in india, daily.
Best way to minimize the crime is to implement sharia laws
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Sep 19, 2012 07:04pm
This is their law, if you don't like don't go there. Just like your countries have their laws, if you break them, you get punished
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Sep 19, 2012 06:23pm
why pakistani and bangladeshi are convicted in crimes like this
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Sep 19, 2012 05:07pm
Do you have the figures, or are you suggesting the Saudis are biased towards Pakistanis & Bangalis.
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Sep 19, 2012 03:15pm
This is not about what is permitted and what is forbidden - this is about your lives and your childrens' lives.
.
Everything is permitted in Pakistan - for the right price.
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Sep 19, 2012 02:36pm
Question is not how many saudis? Question is why pakistani do these crimes when they know the law. I think it pays handsomely if you come out of it.
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Sep 19, 2012 02:31pm
How can you identify a potential buyer?? For law/punishment to be implemented, a proof is required and not just potential.
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Sep 19, 2012 02:29pm
Totally agree, people here are arguing about the punishment but why one need to do it, is the question. If you are bringing drug to the KSA you are calling for your death.
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Sep 19, 2012 01:24pm
Valid point .........
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Sep 19, 2012 01:19pm
Interesting indeed.because they come cheap and in large numbers!!
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Sep 19, 2012 01:18pm
Well, because there is a human element that lot of people care about.Everyone deserves a fair trial and hearing.And I don't think you'll be asking for sharia rules if you were a female,and for obvious reasons.
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Sep 19, 2012 01:12pm
there is life in qasas, what Quran says....to simplify it for you, by sacrificing one life, we can prevent hundred of people from the harm and hazard of the crime, we can prevent crime to happen...crime rate in Kingdom is minimum due to strict punishment under Sharia, PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE...this is the theme of our beautiful religion.
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Sep 19, 2012 12:05pm
If all the nations of the world followed Islamic Shariyah rules for punishments of various crimes, believe you me this world would be a very peaceful place to live.....
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Sep 19, 2012 11:53am
huh... Distasteful... Killing for punishment.. Punishment is to reform people not to end the person completely.
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Sep 19, 2012 11:43am
NO! because that's the rule of the land. Drug trafficking has a straight death penalty. Crime has punishments, in KSA they give out a death penalty. Electrocution or Being hanged is no different
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Sep 19, 2012 11:06am
With having death penality still there is demand for drugs in Suadi Arabia ? Will the Saudis hang potential buyers as well ?
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Sep 19, 2012 11:01am
yeah... and that too for a noble cause like drug trafficking....
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Sep 19, 2012 10:45am
not cruel but the law of Govt to reduce the drugs not in pakistan every road is full of heroine addicited with the presence of anti norcotics agencies
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Sep 19, 2012 10:42am
this is the only way to overcome such crimes......
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Sep 19, 2012 09:39am
And I don't see any chest thumping pakistanis condemning this? Why? because it was done by fellow muslim country?
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Sep 19, 2012 02:03pm
I think the punishment fits the crime. The man, if was indeed guilty, must have known the punishment and he still did it so point is not a reform for him but to deter others not to do that crime.
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