An aerial view of the Makkah, Saudi Arabia September 6, 2016. Reuters
Saudi Arabia executed and crucified a Myanmar man in the holy city of Makkah on Wednesday in a rare form of punishment reserved for the most egregious crimes.
Elias Abulkalaam Jamaleddeen was accused of breaking into the home of a woman from Myanmar, firing a weapon in it then repeatedly stabbing her, which led to her death, the official Saudi Press Agency reported, citing an Interior Ministry statement.
He was also accused of stealing weapons and trying to kill another man whose home he broke into, as well as attempting to rape a woman.
The ruling was supported by the country’s supreme court and endorsed by the king.
Crucifixions in Saudi Arabia entail hanging a body in public after an execution, and are unusual. A Yemeni man was crucified in 2010 for raping and killing a girl and shooting dead her father.
Saudi Arabia is one of the world's top executioners, though crucifixions in which the condemned is usually beheaded and then the body put on display - are rare.
