Three beheaded for homosexuality in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Princes arrested for harassing families

RIYADH, 2 January - Three Saudi men convicted of sodomy and marrying each other were beheaded yesterday in the southwestern city of Abha, the Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement. Ali ibn Hatan ibn Saad, Mohammad ibn Suleiman ibn Mohammad and Mohammad ibn Khalil ibn Abdullah were found guilty of engaging in the 'extreme obscenity and ugly acts of homosexuality', marrying among themselves and molesting the young.

According to an official statement quoted by the media, the three men repeated the acts several times and assaulted people who told them to stop. A Shariah court sentenced them to death and the judgment was confirmed by the high court and the Supreme Judiciary Council of Saudi Arabia.

Similarly, Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed ordered legal action against two princes who were among some 300 youths arrested for causing disturbances on the Jeddah Corniche during the Eid holidays, reported Arab News, leading English daily. The youths were arrested at dawn on the second day of Eid Al-Fitr on the Corniche, where thousands of families and other picnickers gather to spend their evenings during weekends and holidays. The two princes were allegedly among the youths who blocked the main Corniche Road and started harassing families, ignoring orders by police to disperse. "The youths went berserk on the beach, sowing chaos and confusion in the crowd. Eyewitnesses said they put on masks to frighten women and children.The unruly crowd also attacked a patrol team and damaged their cars,' said a report in Al-Watan, an Arabic Newspaper .

It may be recalled that harassing and rediculing expatriates, especially Indians, is an accepted norm among the Arab youth in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries. Reports show that the Arab youth indulge in vandalism and violence against expatriates. Recently, an Indian working in a petrol pump in Saudi Arabia was crushed against a wall and run over by a group of Saudi youths.