PAKISTANI BEHEADED FOR SMUGGLING

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) A Pakistani man was beheaded today in Saudi
Arabia for trying to smuggle drugs into the country, an Interior Ministry
statement said.

Gholam Abbas Ali Nawaz was executed by sword in the western city of Mecca
after noon prayers for trying to enter the country with an unspecified
amount of heroin, the statement said.

Eleven people have been executed so far this year. Last year, 29 people
were beheaded.

Saudi Arabia's Islamic courts impose death sentences for murder, rape, drug
trafficking and armed robbery. Executions usually are carried out with a
sword in public.

Human rights groups have criticized the executions, claiming suspects
generally do not receive fair trials, are denied lawyers and do not have
the right to appeal.