Prince executed for murder in Saudi Arabia

  • 19/10/2016
Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia (Getty)
Riyadh, capital of Saudi Arabia (Getty)

A Saudi prince has been executed in Riyadh after a court found him guilty of shooting dead a fellow Saudi, official media reports, in a rare example of a ruling family member subjected to the death penalty.

Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir had pleaded guilty to shooting Adel al-Mohaimeed after a brawl, the ministry of interior said in a statement on state news agency SPA.

It did not say how the prince was killed on Tuesday.

Most people executed in the kingdom are beheaded with a sword.

Members of Saudi Arabia's ruling family are only rarely known to have been executed. One of the most prominent cases was Faisal bin Musaid al Saud, who assassinated his uncle, King Faisal, in 1975.

The family is estimated to number several thousand.

While members receive monthly stipends, and the most senior princes command great wealth and political power, only a few in the family hold nationally important government posts.

"The government.. is keen to keep order, stabilise security and bring about justice through implementing the rules prescribed by Allah...," said the ministry statement.

Reuters