Saudi Arabia executes US citizen convicted of killing his father

Bishoy Sharif Naji Naseef was given death sentence and executed in Riyadh

US citizen Bishoy Sharif Naji Naseef was executed in Riyadh. Reuters

Saudi Arabia has executed a US citizen convicted of torturing and killing his father, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.

Bishoy Sharif Naji Naseef was given the death sentence and was executed in the capital Riyadh on Wednesday, the kingdom's Ministry of Interior said in a statement.

A court found Naseef beat and strangled his Egyptian father to death and mutilated him after he died, and that he also used drugs and attempted to kill another person, SPA said.

The court's verdict and death sentence were upheld by the Appeals Court and Supreme Court.

The SPA report did not say how Naseef was executed but death sentences in the kingdom are usually carried out by beheading.

The Ministry of Interior said the government was keen to establish security, achieve justice and punish anyone who spills innocent blood.

US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said: "We are aware of those reports and are monitoring the situation but don't have any specifics."

He said a US consular official last visited Naseef in July.

It remains unknown if Naseef had a home address in the US.

Saudi state media has reported 91 executions this year, 19 of them foreigners.

Last year's figure of 147 was more than double the 2021 figure of 69.

Executions for drug crimes resumed in 2022, ending a moratorium that lasted almost three years.