Saudi Arabia executes two policemen for rape

RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has executed two policemen after they were convicted of raping an expatriate woman, the state news agency SPA reported late on Friday.

The two Saudi policemen were executed on Friday in the capital Riyadh, SPA said quoting the Interior Ministry.

The two officers, Shaalan bin Nasser al-Qahtani and Fahd bin Hassan al-Sebeyi, were found guilty of raping the unidentified woman after they stopped a car carrying her and her uncle at a security checkpoint at night.

The two officers beat the man up and locked him in a police car, it added.

Saudi Arabia usually carries out executions by public beheading for murder, rape, drug smuggling and, increasingly, armed robbery.

Saudi Arabia says it is implementing Islamic sharia law to the letter and that sharia ensures full rights for Muslims and non-Muslims, who must abide by the laws of the desert country.

Friday's executions bring to at least nine the total number of people executed this year, six of whom were Saudi nationals, according to a Reuters tally based on announcements by the Interior Ministry.