'I did not kill,' woman cries as Saudi police publicly behead her

A video of the execution which appeared on YouTube was removed as a violation of the site's policy on "shocking and disgusting content."

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Mecca, Saudi Arabia (photo credit: REUTERS)
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Police in Saudi Arabia publicly beheaded a woman in Mecca last week, after she was dragged through the street and held down by four police officers.
Laila Bint Abdul Muttalib Basim from Burma was executed by sword on Monday in Islam’s holiest city after being convicted of the sexual abuse and murder of her seven- year-old step-daughter, The Independent reported on Friday.
A video showed how it took three blows to complete the execution, while the woman screamed “I did not kill. I did not kill,” according to the report.
The video, which appeared on YouTube, was removed as a violation of the site’s policy on “shocking and disgusting content.”
In a statement released on their official website, the Saudi Ministry of Interior said that the death penalty in the Burmese woman’s case was warranted due to the “enormity of the crime,” and was carried out to “restore security” and “realize justice.”
“[The punishment] implements the rulings of God against all those who attack innocents and spill their blood. The government warns all those who are seduced into committing similar crimes that the rightful punishment is their fate,” the statement said.
Rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery, and drug trafficking are punishable by death under Saudi Arabia’s law, which carried out the death penalty against 87 people last year, up from 78 in 2013, according to an AFP tally.