First Saudi execution after Ramadan pause

Riyadh

Saudi Arabia carried out its first execution in five weeks yesterday after a pause for Ramadan, beheading one of its citizens convicted of a double murder.

Sayir al Rasheedi was found guilty of fatally shooting two Saudi brothers in a dispute, the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing the interior ministry.

Authorities carried out the sentence against him in the Qassim region.

The latest beheading brings the number of executions in the kingdom so far this year to 103.

This year's figure is still below the record 192, which human rights group Amnesty International said were carried out in 1995.