Riyadh:
Saudi Arabia's official news agency said that the authorities have beheaded a Pakistani man convicted of smuggling "large quantities" of heroin, bringing the number of publicly announced executions to its highest level in at least five years.
An Associated Press tally of announcements from the official Saudi Press Agency shows that 83 people have been beheaded in Saudi Arabia in 2014, including today's announced execution.
Amnesty International has said Saudi Arabia has one of the highest execution rates in the world. The group lists 79 executions in Saudi Arabia in 2013 and 2012, and 82 in 2011 and 2010. The London-based rights group said at least 69 people were executed in 2009.
According to Amnesty, the countries carrying out the most executions last year were China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the US.