Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic...

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that prescribes the death sentence for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery.
Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of executions in the world in both absolute numbers and per capita, accounting for more than 1,000 lives over the last 20 years. About two thirds of those executed in Saudi Arabia are foreigners.
Last year, 122 people were beheaded in the kingdom. The record number of beheadings in one year in Saudi Arabia was 191 in 1995.
Many of the announced Saudi executions were for murder and rape, but a wide range of nonviolent crimes also resulted in decapitation. Among the lesser offences that led to executions were apostasy, witchcraft, sexual offences and crimes involving both hard and soft drugs.
Saudi justice is especially harsh in its treatment of foreign workers, particularly those from poorer countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia, who make up about a quarter of the Saudi population. Migrant workers are vulnerable to abuse from their employers as well as from the authorities. If arrested, foreign nationals may be tricked or coerced into signing a confession in Arabic, which they may not understand. Migrant workers were frequently tortured and ill-treated, more likely than Saudis to be executed or punished by flogging or amputation.
Human rights organizations maintain Saudi Arabia often fails to give defendants fair trials and point out that Islam calls for limiting the use of capital punishment.