Iraqi national Hakem Rajouj Mutair al-Ziyadi was beheaded by sword after being convicted of smuggling hashish into Saudi Arabia.[1] He was caught red-handed trying to smuggle an undisclosed amount of hashish on a motorbike, the Interior Ministry said in a statement carried by the state SPA news agency.[1][2] The execution took place in the northern town of Rafha, on the border with Iraq.[1]

The beheading was announced on 14 May 2007 alongside other executions, including a Pakistani national beheaded for heroin smuggling.[1][2] At least 37 people were executed in the kingdom in 2006, after 83 in 2005 and 35 the year before, according to press tallies of official statements.[2] The latest execution brought the announced 2007 total to 73.[2]