Mood: irritated
AP reports: "The al-Qaida cell allegedly led by Abdulaziz al-Moqrin fulfilled its threat to kill engineer Paul M. Johnson Jr., beheading him and showing grisly photos on the Internet on Friday."
The beheading was condemned around the world:
Jordan issued a statement condemning the "barbaric act" and calling for those responsible to the brought to justice.
Such heinous acts of terror do not represent the true values of Islam which is based on tolerance, compassion and peaceful coexistence," the statement said. [Except in Saudi Arabia apparently]
President Bush called the killers "militants thugs" and British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the slaying was "an act of barbarism."
What kind of society produces these terrorists anyway?
Consider a report from Amnesty International from 2000: http://www.amnesty.org/ailib/aireport/ar99/mde23.htm
AI has begun a campaign to "raise awareness both internationally and within Saudi Arabia about the human rights situation, Amnesty said, "Secrecy and fear permeate every aspect of the state structure in Saudi Arabia.
There are no political parties, no elections, no independent legislature, no trades unions, no bar association, no independent judiciary, and no independent human rights organisations.
Anyone living in Saudi Arabia who criticises the system is harshly punished. After arrest, political and religious opponents of the government are detained indefinitely without trial or are imprisoned after grossly unfair trials.
Torture is endemic. Foreign workers are always at risk." [Foreign workers are in danger from the Saudi government. That's pretty ironic.]
About beheadings: [where did they ever get that idea?]
A Human Rights Watch report [www.hrw.org/wr2k/Mena-08.htm] states that the number of executions rose to 84 before the end of 1999, from 29 in 1998. Death sentences are typically imposed for murder, rape, drug trafficking and armed robbery.
The executions, usually beheadings, were carried out in public after Friday prayers.
The majority of those publicly beheaded were foreigners, including two women. Until the mid-1990s, women were usually executed by firing squad in prisons and not in public.