Saudi Arabia beheads Ethiopian woman convicted of murdering Egyptian man

The Associated Press

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Saudi authorities beheaded Wednesday an Ethiopian woman convicted of killing an Egyptian man over a dispute, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

Khadija Bint Ibrahim Moussa was found guilty of fatally stabbing Mohammed Kamal Shaheen, according to the statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency. Moussa had stabbed Shaheen in the neck while he was asleep and then beat his head with a glass bottle. She was executed in the Red Sea port city of Jiddah. No other details were known.

Moussa was the first woman to be executed this year. The kingdom beheaded two women in 2005.

Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed. Beheadings are carried out with a sword in a public square.

Wednesday’s executions brought to 57 the number of people beheaded in the kingdom this year. The kingdom beheaded 38 people last year and 83 people in 2005.