Saudi Arabia Displays Beheaded Convict

By Neal Colgrass,  Newser Staff
Posted May 30, 2009 6:40 PM CDT
Saudi Arabia Displays Beheaded Convict
King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, center, speaks with the new Saudi Shura Council chairman, right, as the new supreme Council of Justice looks on in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, March 24, 2009.   (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Saudi Arabian authorities decapitated and publicly displayed a convicted killer last night, drawing fire from Amnesty International, CNN reports. A state press agency said Ahmed Al-Shamlani Al-Anzi was sentenced for murdering an 11-year-old boy and his father. The Saudis likely sewed Al-Anzi's head back on before his display, or "crucifixion," which is intended to deter future crimes, an Amnesty researcher said.

"King Abdullah should show true leadership and commute all death sentences if Saudi Arabia is to have any role to play as a global leader or member of the G-20," Amnesty said in a statement. The nation's trials "usually take place behind closed doors without adequate legal representation." The group said Saudi Arabia executed 102 convicts last year; at least 136 more are waiting on death row.
(More Saudi Arabia stories.)

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