MOSCOW, March 11 (RIA Novosti) - A ministerial committee in Saudi Arabia is considering to formally drop public beheadings as a method of the capital punishment in the kingdom, Al Jazeera reported citing Saudi Arabian newspapers.
The agency cited Al-Watan daily that the committee, which consists of representatives from the interior and health ministries, the prosecution office and the general directorate of prisons, proposes replacing decapitation with shooting.
According to laws in the oil-rich kingdom, capital punishment is extended on all criminals, who were found guilty of murder, armed robbery, rape and drug trafficking.
The death sentences in Saudi Arabia are carried out by beheading in a public square. Last year Saudi Arabia executed 76 people, comparing to 79 in 2011. This year, 15 people were already beheaded.
