Illustration by Amarjit Sidhu

SAUDI ARABIA: TWO MEN BEHEADED FOR MURDER

March 9, 2015: two men were executed in Saudi Arabia for murder, official sources reported.
Saudi Manie bin Ali bin Muhsin al-Gahtani was beheaded on March 5.
He was convicted of allegedly gunning down another man, the Interior Ministry said in a statement reported by the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Authorities carried out the sentence in the southwestern city of Abha.
On March 9, Saudi Arabia beheaded a Filipino convicted of murdering his boss, bringing to 40 the number of executions this year. Joven Esteva was found guilty of stabbing the Saudi in the chest in 2007.
"The perpetrator had worked as a driver for him," an interior ministry statement carried by the official Saudi Press Agency said. Authorities carried out the sentence against Esteva in Riyadh, adding to what Amnesty International calls an unprecedented pace of executions in the kingdom this year.
"It is with sadness that we confirm the execution of Joven Esteva at 9am today, Saudi time, in Riyadh," foreign department spokesman Charles Jose said in a statement. "Regrettably, despite efforts of the Philippine government, (the) family of the victim refused to grant forgiveness," he said, without giving other details.
In just over two months, Saudi Arabia has beheaded almost half the number of foreigners and Saudis executed during all of 2014, according to AFP tallies. (Sources: english.al-akhbar.com, 05/03/2015; AFP, 09/03/2015)