Saudi gay men executed for killing man who witnessed sex act

Two Saudi men were executed Sunday for killing a Pakistani man who saw them in a "shameful situation," the Saudi interior ministry said in a statement issued by the official Saudi Press Agency. The phrase "shameful situation" is used to refer to homosexual acts, viewed as a sin against Islam and prohibited in Saudi Arabia and other Muslim nations. In Saudi Arabia homosexual acts can be punished by flogging or prison terms. Ahmed bin Shenayen bin Dhiya al-Inizi and Shaher bin Waqaaf bin Qayidh al-Ruwaily were convicted of killing Pakistani national Malek Zade Khan in the northern town of Arar, the ministry said. They feared the scene he'd witnessed could create a scandal for them, so they first ran him over with a car, then crushed his skull with a rock and set him on fire, the statement read. Sunday's beheadings brought the number of people beheaded in Saudi Arabia this year to 24. Saudi authorities executed 35 people in 2004, down from 52 people the year before. Most were convicted of drug smuggling. Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of drug trafficking, murder, rape, and armed robbery can be executed. Beheadings are carried out with a sword in public. (AP)