Saudi beheads citizen for murder

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia beheaded one of its citizens on Tuesday after convicting him of murder, the interior ministry said.

Mufreh Bin Mohammad Al Assiri was found guilty of shooting dead another Saudi, Salman Bin Eisa Al Assiri, the ministry said in a statement carried by the official SPA news agency.

The beheading in the southwestern Asir region brings to 59 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 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.