Riyadh - A Saudi man convicted of the murder of a soldier was beheaded in Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia on Monday, the interior ministry said.
Abdullah Sabii received the death sentence for stabbing a soldier, Hassan Arjani, to death, said the statement, which was carried by the official SPA news agency.
Sabii's execution brings to 34 the number of people beheaded in Saudi Arabia this year, according to an AFP tally based on official and human rights group reports.
On June 10, London-based watchdog Amnesty International called on Saudi Arabia to stop applying the death penalty, saying there had been a significant rise in the number of executions in the previous six weeks.
It said 15 people were executed in May alone.
In 2009, the number of executions reached 67, compared to 102 in 2008.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking are all punishable by death under Saudi Arabia's strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law. - Sapa-AFP