Saudi Arabia beheads two Thai men

Two Thai men were beheaded on Monday be Saudi authorities for smuggling drugs, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The two men, whose names were only released in Arabic and could not reliably be translated, were convicted of bringing a large quantity of hashish into the country hidden inside a sportswear shipment, according to an Interior Ministry statement carried by SPA.

SPA said the two Thais were executed in the eastern city of al-Dammam.

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.

Monday's executions brought to 55 the number of people beheaded in the kingdom this year. The kingdom beheaded 38 people last year and 83 people in 2005.