Saudi Arabia executes 100th person this year, set to break record

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, June 15 (UPI) -- Saudi Arabia is on course to break its record of executions as it beheaded two people on Monday -- bringing the overall execution death toll this year to 100.

The Kingdom beheaded an accused Syrian drug trafficker and a convicted murderer on Monday. The country executed 90 people in 2014.

Saudi Arabia could break the record of 192 executions it carried out in 1995.

Syrian Ismael al-Tawm was accused of smuggling "a large amount of banned amphetamine pills into the kingdom" and was beheaded in the northern region of Jawf, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

Rami al-Khaldi was executed in the western province after being convicted of stabbing another Saudi to death.

Only China and Iran execute more people than Saudi Arabia, where drug and murder convictions make up most of the executions.

"With the year yet to pass its midpoint, the Gulf Kingdom has raced towards this shocking toll at an unprecedented rate. This alarming surge in executions surpasses even the country's own previous dreadful records," Deputy Middle East and North Africa Program Director at Amnesty International Said Boumedouha wrote in a statement about a recent execution. "The Saudi Arabian authorities' unwavering commitment to this brutal form of punishment is utterly gruesome considering the deep flaws in its justice system."

Saudi Arabia is ruled under a strict interpretation of Sharia law. The most common method of execution is beheading, often in public squares. Southern provinces have at times executed prisoners with firing squads, according to Amnesty International.

"There is no convincing evidence that the death penalty is a particular deterrent to crime, or that it is more effective than other forms of punishment. Instead of expediting executions the Saudi Arabian authorities should immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty," Boumedhoua said.