Saudis carry out first execution since RamadanRIYADH: Saudi authorities executed a murderer in the holy city of Mecca on Sunday, the first death sentence to be carried out since before the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The last execution in the Gulf country took place on May 29, more than a week before Ramadan began. There were no beheadings during the fasting month and the following Eid’l Fitr feast. It was the 96th execution of the year in the ultra-conservative Muslim kingdom, which imposes the death penalty for offences including murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy. They included prominent Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, whose execution prompted Iranian protesters to torch Saudi diplomatic missions triggering the severing of relations between the Middle East’s leading Sunni and Shiite powers.

Source: Manila Times July 17, 2016 12:22 UTC