Saudi Arabia executes five Yemenis, displays bodies in public

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has executed five Yemenis convicted of crimes and displayed their bodies in public as a deterrent for future criminals.

The Interior Ministry says the five were convicted of setting up a gang that carried out several crimes, including the murder of a Saudi man. They were executed on Tuesday and their bodies were put on display at a square in the southern city of Jazan.

The ministry says the court ordered the bodies displayed because the crimes "indicate that evil and corruption persist" and that the Yemenis had no respect for "sanctities and the blood of others."

The kingdom follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed, mostly by the sword or a firing squad.