Paedophile to be crucified in Saudi Arabia

London, Nov 4 : A Saudi Arabian paedophile who raped five children and left one of them to die in the desert is to be beheaded and crucified, reports said.

Muhammed Basheer al-Ramaly, from the northwestern city of Hail, is to be executed Wednesday, the Times said quoting Saudi reports.

An appeal court in the capital Riyadh has approved the death sentence handed down in June by judges in Hail, where the convicted 22-year-old man carried out his crimes.

The rapist was arrested several weeks ago as he tried to seize another boy after offering him a ride home from school.

The seven-year-old, who escaped unharmed, helped identify the culprit.

Amnesty International, the human rights group, condemned the sentence, saying there were reports that al-Ramaly may have been suffering from a psychological disorder.

A Saudi web forum reported that police had been surprised when he laughed as he confessed to the rapes and murder.

An investigation was launched after the discovery of a missing three-year-old boy who was under a scorching sun in the desert where he had died of thirst.

Crucifixion in Saudi Arabia means tying the convict's body to wooden beams to be displayed to the public after being decapitated by a professional swordsman.

Saudi Arabia has executed 56 people this year under laws that allow the death penalty for rape, murder, apostasy, armed robbery and drug trafficking.

--IANS