Saudi prince executed for murder

RIYADH:Saudi Arabia on Tuesday executed a member of the royal family for murder, in a rare case involving one of the thousands of members of the House of Saud.nnPrince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir was put to death in the capital Riyadh for shooting dead Adel al-Mahemid, a Saudi, during a brawl, the interior ministry said in a statement.nnKabir was the 134th local or foreigner put to death this year, according to an AFP tally of ministry statements.nnThe Arab News reported in November 2014 that a court in Riyadh sentenced an unnamed prince to death for killing his friend.nnHe lost his life and another person was injured in an exchange of gunfire following a dispute at a camp on the edge of Riyadh in December 2012, the newspaper said.nnDesert camps are popular gathering places for Saudis.nnWhen the killer realized that his victim was a friend and colleague, he informed the police, the Arab News said.nnThe sentence reflected the kingdom?s ?fair justice system,? Arab News quoted the victim?s uncle Abdul Rahman al-Falaj as saying.nnMost people put to death in Saudi Arabia are beheaded with a sword.nnSaudi Arabia has a strict Islamic legal code under which murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death.nnAmnesty International says the kingdom carried out at least 158 death sentences in 2015, making it the third most prolific executioner after Iran and Pakistan.nAmnesty?s figures do not include secretive China.nnMurder and drug trafficking cases account for the majority of Saudi executions, although 47 people were put to death for ?terrorism? on a single day in January.nRights experts have raised concerns about the fairness of trials in the kingdom but the government says the death penalty is a deterrent.nnSourceE: AFP