MOSCOW, January 28 (Sputnik) - Three more people have been beheaded in Saudi Arabia under the reign of King Salman, who assumed power just a few days ago after his predecessor, the 90-year-old King Abdullah, died, the Daily Mail reports.
Two of the men - Latif Khan Nurzada from Pakistan and Yassir bin Hussein al-Hamza - were charged with drug smuggling. Nurzada was accused of heroin trafficking and executed in Mecca. Al-Hamza’s execution took place in northwestern Jawf region after he allegedly admitted his involvement in smuggling amphetamine pills.
The third man, Omar bin Yahya bin Ibrahim al-Barkati, was convicted of incest and executed in the south western Asir region.
The three beheadings occured a day after Moussa al-Zahrani, a Saudi teacher charged with child sexual abuse, was executed in Jeddah on Tuesday. He was accused of abducting and raping underage girls and forcing them to watch pornography.
New King, but business as usual in #Saudi. 16 people executed this month alone! Teacher publicly beheaded today. http://t.co/38zniaOVI8
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) 26 января 2015
Al-Zahrani constantly pleaded not guilty and even released a 20-minute video on Youtube, where he asked the former King Abdullah to intervene. His relatives appealed to the King Abdullah as well, and Saudi authorities promised to review his case. However, the death of King Abdullah and the assumption of power by King Salman changed the situation dramatically and the man was executed.
“He was executed as punishment for his crime and as a lesson to others,” the Interior Ministry stated.
The decapitation of Al-Zahrani and others caused uproar in social media as the recent beheadings bring the country’s number of executions to 16 already this year.
King Salman: "We'll continue adhering to the correct policies #KSA has followed since its establishment" Beheadings to resume asap
— H e b a (@HK2307) 23 января 2015
New #Saudi King Salman promises continuity. Meaning, more disgusting, barbaric acts such as beheadings and flogging. http://t.co/CV3Z2XpuIM
— Edward Herbert (@ed_herbert) 23 января 2015
