Saudi Murderer Beheaded

A Saudi man convicted of murder was beheaded by the sword on Saturday in the capital, the interior ministry said in a statement.

Saud bin Diri al-Anezi was found guilty of stabbing Yassef bin Eid al-Anezi to death in an argument, the statement said.

His execution takes to 30 the number of people put to death in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the year, according to an Agence France Presse count.

In 2012, the kingdom executed 76 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. The U.S.-based Human Rights Watch put the number at 69.

Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict version of sharia, or Islamic law.