Saudi Arabia beheads guards over drugs

[ECH1969]

Saudi Arabia said it had beheaded two Saudi border guards found guilty of smuggling drugs into the kingdom, taking to five the number of reported executions in 2006.

An Interior Ministry statement identified the men as Ma'idh al-Waily and Mahdi al-Mansour. It said they had been transporting drugs in patrol vehicles.

The men were executed at Arar, a border crossing town into Iraq. The statement said they were beheaded by the sword, the usual form of execution in the kingdom which implements a strict interpretation of Islam known as Wahhabism.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/World/Saudi-Arabia-beheads-guards-over-drugs/2006/08/29/1156617280352.html

[Bill McBlueState]

1. only 33 to go

and they'll catch the US. No wonder they hate us for our freedoms. :sarcasm:

http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions.php

[Psephos]

11. Their population is 26 million vs. US population of 300 million

Which makes their rate about double the US rate.

BTW, I am anti-death penalty.

Peace.

[Bill McBlueState]

13. thanks -- I usually catch things like that

I guess I have a hard time thinking logically about the death penalty!

[Psephos]

15. I'm the same way :-) nt

[physioex]

2. Saudi Government....

Makes me sick. They have some of the most corrupt government officials who booze, womenize, and commit adultery while imposing wahahabism on the populus.

[Ezlivin]

3. Draconian penalities for drug use DOES NOT STOP IT

So can we stop pissing away $50 billion yearly on the useless Drug War?

[Kagemusha]

7. Not that it matters much, but the guards were smugglers.

Not users. At least, if they used, that isn't what they were beheaded for.

[MADem]

4. They don't say which "drugs"

But they'll lop your head off for hash or heroin, they don't give a sweet shit.

They've got trouble on their border though--people wanting a good payday will run that risk, and the stuff is right next door:

http://www.yobserver.com/news_10767.php

......Dating back to the late nineties, drugs were rarely heard of in a country like Yemen, as they were only known to a number of locals and those who had lived abroad. However, in the course of time, Yemen has in a short span of less than one decade turned into a regional headquarters, as most of the drugs used in the region are transported from Southeast Asia and into the Gulf of Aden. From there they spread to countries throughout the region through the long border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

In mid July, security authorities in Aden destroyed 1052 kg of hashish and other drugs including heroin, the value of which has been estimated at 526 million Yemeni Riyals. “Such quantities of drugs were seized thanks to efforts by policemen in the governorate who fight the phenomenon of trafficking drugs between Yemen and the neighboring countries,” Chief of Aden Security Department, Colonel Abdullah Qairan said.

“In cooperation with security authorities, many outlets which had been used for transporting these harmful substances, have been controlled by the concerned bodies in the government and civil society organizations,” he added. Comparing the usage of drugs in Yemen with that of other countries in the region, Yemen is considered the least consuming nation in the region.

A main reason for this is that over 70 percent of its people live in rural areas, therefore living a traditional life far from the changes that occur in everyday more quickly in urban areas. When asking numerous rural residents about what drugs look like, nearly 98 percent did not know. Another reason for its slow spread in Yemen is due to the financial crisis that families face, as nearly 40 percent of Yemenis live near the poverty line. According to the Yemen Polling center (YPC), over 21 percent of the people don’t have enough money to buy food for their families.

Even though Yemeni people are not famous for being drug addicts and users, Yemen is still a major route in trafficking drugs to different countries in the region. Most of the country’s drugs can be found in the cities near the sea. Hodeidah, Aden and Sana’a are among the major places in the country where drugs can be found. Aden is also considered to have the highest number of drug users in the country, according to local observers. They can be bought in clubs, certain hotels, and occasionally you will notice prostitutes themselves selling drugs, thereby attracting more customers, and being in a position to influence the use of drugs among locals who contact them. These customers eventually ask for more as time goes on. ........

[rodeodance]

6. " hashish and other drugs including heroin,"

[MADem]

8. That's in MY cite, not in the OP NT

[Rex]

5. Wahhabism...gosh that sounds like what OBL believes in.

And then there are the Bush Sultans. What a fucked up relationship America has with SA.

[UpInArms]

9. When will Dimson condemn the Saudis for being barbaric?

President George W Bush and other US officials condemned the beheading as "barbaric."

Washington - Anger and revulsion swept the United States over the gruesome beheading of US engineer Paul Johnson in Saudi Arabia.

President George W Bush and other US officials condemned the beheading as "barbaric."

"The killers are "trying to intimidate America. They're trying to shake our will. They're trying to get us to retreat from the world," Bush said during a campaign stop in the northwestern state of Washington.

"America will not retreat. America will not be intimidated by these kinds of extremist thugs," Bush vowed, urging: "We must pursue these people and bring them to justice before they hurt other Americans."

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry, who has been critical of Riyadh and its ties to Bush, denounced the beheading as "a grotesque act" - and had stern words for the Saudis.

"It is essential that we have the full co-operation of the Saudi government in tracking down these terrorists and destroying al-Qaeda. This must be our nation's highest priority," Kerry said in a statement.

Islamist websites showed grisly pictures of Johnson's body lying in a pool of blood, his severed head placed on his back.

[saigon68]

14. our hero

[daleo]

16. The sword was wielded by a government employee

So that makes it ok, and not barbaric. Kinda like a bomb dropped by a government employee on civilians isn't terrorism, but a bomb dropped by a civilian is.

[Anakin Skywalker]

10. What if the Great MahaRushie

had been caught with his oh-so-desperately needed Viagra and Oxycontin over there, eh?

[devilgrrl]

12. Only Saudi Royal Family members are allowed to smuggle into the kingdom...

what were those two clowns thinking? :sarcasm: