Capital Punishment Qatar

Qatar on Saturday beheaded two men found guilty of murder, an Interior Ministry official contacted by telephone from neighboring Bahrain said.

An appeals court sentenced 19 people, including the emir's cousin, to death for a failed 1996 coup. Twenty other defendants were given life sentences and 28 were ordered freed, according to a court order. Death sentences have to be approved by the emir, Sheik Hamad ibn Khalifa al Thani. The emir's cousin, Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Hamad al Thani, had served as economy minister and as a police chief. He was thought to be the mastermind behind the coup attempt.

An appeals court sentenced 19 people, including the emir's cousin, to death for a failed 1996 coup. Twenty other defendants were given life sentences and 28 were ordered freed, according to a court order. Death sentences have to be approved by the emir, Sheik Hamad ibn Khalifa al Thani. The emir's cousin, Sheik Hamad bin Jassim bin Hamad al Thani, had served as economy minister and as a police chief. He was thought to be the mastermind behind the coup attempt.

Qatar on Saturday beheaded two men found guilty of murder, an Interior Ministry official contacted by telephone from neighboring Bahrain said.