Saudi Arabia beheads Ghanian for drug trafficking

AP ^ | Nov 15 2007

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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) - Saudi authorities beheaded a Ghanian man convicted of smuggling cocaine in his intestinal tract, the Interior Ministry said Thursday. Jamil Ibrahim Hassan was arrested while trying to smuggle cocaine into the kingdom, the ministry said in a statement carried by Saudi Press Agency. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which those convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery are executed in public with a sword.

Thursday's executions brought to 132 the number of people beheaded in the kingdom this year, according to a count by The Associated Press. Saudi Arabia beheaded 38 people last year and 83 people in 2005.

[ddtorquee]

interesting that as far as Google News shows this was only covered by one website even though it is a wire services article. Guess nobody wants to offend the Saudis.

[theDentist]

I wouldn’t call beheading a scum-bucket drug trafficker offensive at all.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Very little recidivism.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Well, that got that one right.

[Red Badger]

I bet he don’t try that again!...............

[weegee]

They’d probably offer a similar punishment for someone caught smuggling in Bibles.

[agere_contra]

He sounds like a dime-a-dozen mule. Evil Drug Kingpins don’t use their own alimentary canals to smuggle drugs, they hire them. Apparently from Ghana.

[org.whodat]

I bet he don’t try that again!...............

Don't lose your head over a little bit of blow............LOL

[Old Retired Army Guy]

Anybody ever notice that Countries like Saudi Arabia and Singapore where they have death penalty drug laws don’t have a problem with drug traffic or abuse. The U.S is the biggest consumer nation of illegal drugs and because of our demand, cartels in Mexico and South America thrive. Wonder what would happen if our laws imposed the maximum penalty for trafficking? Sorry, I must have lost my head. Forgot about he ACLU and liberals etc.

[Red Badger]

I wonder why anybody would even attempt such things knowing the penalty is a gruesome death, albeit a quick one?.........

[Rummyfan]

They’d probably offer a similar punishment for someone caught smuggling in Bibles.

Proselytizing is a capital crime in the Kingdom.

[Portcall24]

Here's a story I wrote in the 1990's entitled, Saudi Justice: The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced this week that several criminals had been put to death. In the mid-1980's I spent three months as the Vice-Commander of the USAF Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) group located at Riyadh and Dhaharan. Several executions were conducted while I was there. Crime is very low in Saudi. For example, when I first got there we had a case where a lady (about 50 of the 450 people working for me were females) had left her wallet in the taxi when she went into downtown Riyadh. The next day the wallet with all themoney inside was returned to the hotel where we all stayed. This is not unusual because their bible, the Koran, teaches that if something is left someplace it is to remain there until the person who left it returns to claim it. This results in large piles of wrecked cars at some intersections because when they wreck a car they just pull it off of the road and go buy another one. The advantage is that if you see an intersection with a large pile of cars and trucks you should be very careful. Saudi's are notorious drivers. Most of people tried and executed in Saudi Arabia are from other countries. They come there to work and get into trouble. One case I recall was a Korean and an Egyptian argued because of them took the others' clothes out of the washer to make room for his own. A fight occurred and a man died. He was sentenced to death. Executions are conducted downtown Riyadh. Visitors are very welcome to attend these macabre events. In fact if you happen to be present and the Saudi's notice you, they will shove you forward to make sure you get a good view. The event occurs right after holy services on their holy day--Saturday. We used to refer to Saturday as Saudi Sunday. At the designated time a white panel truck arrives at the downtown square in front of their holy temple. As the prisoner is escorted out of the back of the van all of the traffic comes to a screeching stop. People climb on top of their vehicles and gather round for a good view. Everyone is smiling and very excited about the event. The prisoner is moved forward with his hands bound behind his back. He is dressed in a white robe and a white headdress (I don't remember the name of this headdress). He is made to kneel down and the executioner steps out of the van with his sword. The back of the headdress is flipped forward to expose the neck and the executioner might kick the prisoner lightly in the rear to get him to stick his neck out. Whack! Whack! Its over. The remains are returned to the van which quickly departs and in a matter of minutes traffic is once again careening haphazardly throughout the streets. The van with the prisoner comes from the hospital to the square. The prisoner is taken there first to receive a substantial amount of drugs to render him impervious to things around him. Additionally for lesser offenses such as stealing, the hand is surgically removed at the hospital and then the man and his hand are brought to the square, to be removed by the swordsman in a ceremonial manner. The hospital is a beautiful structure with all of the latest equipment. Many of the medical personnel are British. I'm told that the one British nurse which helped administer the drugs to the condemn prisoners was very concerned about her role in this and therefore did extensive research concerning the Saudi legal system. She found that there were several layers of checks and balances in their legal system but they move much more quickly than in many other countries. When a man is found guilty of an offense, there is an appeal process. What is unique is that the final appeal is to the family of the victim. In fact, the victim's family can choose between an execution of the condemned or money (if the condemned has it). This is where the term 'blood money' comes from. So even a murderer can buy his freedom if he has the money and the victim's family agrees. Of course their loss is fresh in their minds, unlike an appeal process that might take ten or fifteen years elsewhere. The store is told about a man who fell out of a tree and landed on another man on a horse. The man on the horse fell off and broke his neck. The wife of the horseman wanted the death of the man in the tree. The matter was referred to Ibn Saud (the father of the Kingdom) and after some thought, recognizing it was an accident, he told the wife that she could climb into the tree and jump on the man who fell out of the tree. He'd be riding the horse. I don't recall what she decided to do. I do know that you could go anywhere you wanted in Riyadh and never worry about trouble. At least not from a criminal, I did have a little problem with the parking police. I had a car while I was there and one afternoon I was downtown Riyadh on business. I parallel parked on the street along with all the other cars and when I came back in an hour I discovered my car was gone. Not only was my car gone but so were all the other cars on that side of the street. I didn't read Arabic on the street sign that said, "Cars towed after 3:00." I had lots of fun just locating where they had taken my car. Especially when few speak English and I didn't speak Arabic. I finally found my car and then had to explain why I didn't move my car before 3:00. By doing a lot of pointing up in the sky and drawing an AWACS airplane I was able to make them understand. Anyhow I left without paying. Damn, I better not go back or I might find myself in front of one of those judges.

[Portcall24]

Sorry, paragraphs didn’t take!

[Finalapproach29er]

This has to stop.

These Jesus haters need to be pressured by the US government to stop acting like dumb mutts.

[G8 Diplomat]

The phrase “You’d forget your head if it wasn’t attached to your shoulders” is a moot point in the Kingdom....

[monday]

“I wouldn’t call beheading a scum-bucket drug trafficker offensive at all.”

Yeah, Saudi Arabia is too nice to those scum-bucket drug traffickers. They should lash them to death like they do to their rape victims. Torture them slowly so they really suffer before they die. /<sarcasm

[FishTale]

"Anybody ever notice that Countries like Saudi Arabia and Singapore where they have death penalty drug laws don’t have a problem with drug traffic or abuse."

Thursday's executions brought to 132 the number of people beheaded in the kingdom this year, according to a count by The Associated Press. Saudi Arabia beheaded 38 people last year and 83 people in 2005.

132 beheadings? Sounds like somewhat of a problem despite the penalties. I'm curious as to how these numbers compare based on percentage of population.

[monday]

“I wonder why anybody would even attempt such things knowing the penalty is a gruesome death, albeit a quick one?.........”

Mother, sister, father, fill in the blank, needs operation or they will die, or variation on theme. Only way to pay for operation is to accept job as drug mule. Almost everyone is in dire financial straits in a country like Ghana.

[Ken H]

Anybody ever notice that Countries like Saudi Arabia and Singapore where they have death penalty drug laws don't have a problem with drug traffic or abuse.

"Iran has executed more than 10,000 narcotics traffickers in the last decade;"

--www.payvand.com/news/04/mar/1012.htm

"Iran has the highest proportion of heroin addicts in the world and a growing Aids problem."

--news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/3791889.stm

"The GOS [Government of Singapore] nonetheless is concerned about the increase in addiction rates and recidivism among drug offenders who have undergone treatment. There are currently about 9,000 addicts undergoing rehabilitation in Singapore treatment centers, the same number as in 1995."

--http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/1996_narc_report/index.html

The Netherlands-- "Demand Reduction. The Netherlands has extensive demand reduction programs and low­threshold medical services for addicts, who are also offered drug rehabilitation programs. Authorities believe such programs reach about 70­80 percent of the country's 25,000 hard­drug users. [my note: in a total population of 15.1 million]

--http://www.state.gov/www/global/narcotics_law/1996_narc_report/index.html

_______________________________________

Using a population of 3 million for Singapore in 1996, that works out to an addiction rate of about 0.30%. Using the State Dept. figures for the Netherlands, and a population of 15.1 million, the addiction rate was about 0.17%. Nearly double!

Also note that the Singapore figure only takes into account the addicts under treatment, whereas the figure for Holland is the estimate of the total number of addicts.

[theDentist]

In that case I’d be just as p.o.’d as you.

[theDentist]

Beheading is quick and simpler. But OK, if you insist.

[agere_contra]

Damn that’s a shame. Your post was really interesting, but murdered by formatting!

[Portcall24]

Wasn’t like that in the preview.

[weegee]

Then we should prohibit the construction of mosques funded by “the Kingdom” in the West. Until they evidence some tolerance for missionaries, they should not be permitted to engage in the same practice.

[Rummyfan]

Oh I agree - make religious tolerance a two-way street.

[kabar]

They don’t have thousands on death row pending appeal like we do. Justice is fast and final.

[microgood]

I wouldn’t call beheading a scum-bucket drug trafficker offensive at all.

As long as you behead all users as well, I am fine with that.

[theDentist]

Users, well, I may give a single 2nd chance. They are destroyingh their own lives and that of family/friends, while dealers are destroying lives of many families. But to continue drugging after that warning... you just haven’t got a good head on your shoulders.