AP

Posted: 2008-01-23 09:41:12

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) – Saudi authorities on Wednesday beheaded four convicts – a man accused of killing his wife, and three Burmese immigrants convicted of armed robbery, the Interior Ministry said.

The ministry said Mohsen bin Hayef bin Naem al-Moteiry, a Saudi citizen, “slaughtered his wife with a knife” while she slept. It did not say when the murder took place.

The three others executed Wednesday were Burmese immigrants to Saudi Arabia, originally from the Southeast Asian country now known as Myanmar. They were convicted of breaking into a house and terrorizing the wife of its owner.

According the ministry, two of the men gagged the woman and bound her hands and feet together, then threatened her with a knife and stole jewelry and money. The third man, who was related to the woman, assisted their entry, it said.

Al-Moteiry was executed in the Saudi province of Muthnib, which lies north of the capital Riyadh, a ministry statement said. The three other convicts were beheaded in Mecca, west of Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed.

Wednesday’s executions bring the number of people beheaded this year to 15, including two women, according to an Associated Press count. Saudi Arabia beheaded 137 people last year, up sharply from the 38 executed in 2006.