Saudi Arabia beheaded 19 since 4 August

Saudi Arabia’s judicial authorities have beheaded at least 19 convicted criminals since Aug. 4, nearly half of them for nonviolent offenses, including one for sorcery, Human Rights Watch said Thursday, calling the spate of executions “particularly egregious.” In a report on its website drawn from Saudi government news dispatches, Human Rights Watch said seven convicts were beheaded for drug smuggling, including four in the southeast city of Najran this week. Amnesty International, which also reported on the Najran beheadings, said the four had been forced to confess under torture. Saudi Arabia has executed at least 34 people this year, Amnesty International, said, and it executed at least 79 in 2013. The country has historically rejected international standards for offenses deemed insufficient for capital punishment, applying it to crimes that include adultery, armed robbery, apostasy, drug trafficking, rape and witchcraft.