Saudi Arabia has one of the highest rates of executions...

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. The record number of beheadings in one year in Saudi Arabia was 191 in 1995. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic law that prescribes the death sentence for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery, though a victim's immediate family can accept financial compensation, known as "blood money," and spare the life of a convicted murderer. 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. Executions are carried out in public with a sword. Officials state that the death penalty for women is not carried out in public. The law provides for the application of the death penalty also in the case of minors. The problem of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia is primarily linked to the violations of basic procedural standards. Reportedly, confessions obtained under torture are accepted by the court as evidence. The Saudi Government says executions are an effective deterrent and issues a grim warning against drug smuggling every time it reports a new beheading on drugs charges. After suspects are convicted their cases go through a mandatory appeals process and the death sentence must be approved by the Supreme Judicial Council and King Fahd. 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.