MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti) - A Saudi man, Maqbul bin Madi-Sharari, was beheaded Tuesday after he repeatedly caned his two-year-old son at the back of his head and the rest of his body, and tortured him to death, Saudi Interior Ministry stated on Tuesday.
Maqbul bin Madi-Sharari also “punched the toddler in the face repeatedly and burned him in different parts of his body, torturing him several times, which led to his death," Saudi Interior Ministry stated.
His execution brings a total to 18 death sentences in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia this year, and a total of 78 beheadings in 2013.
A day before, Saudi authorities Monday also beheaded a Nepali housemaid convicted of murdering a two-year-old boy by slitting his throat, the Saudi Interior Ministry said as reported by 124News.
According to Saudi’s strict Islamic Sharia law, rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has repeatedly shown concern about the popularity of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia following an execution of 7 men arrested in 2006 on charges of organized crime and armed robbery; by March 2013, at least 27 beheadings had already taken place. Prior to this, Amnesty International reported 79 executions in 2012, with 28 among them foreigners.
