Saudi Policeman to be Tried by Sharia Court for 'Secretly' Filming Brutal Beheading of Burmese Woman

A Saudi policeman, who secretly filmed a video of his fellow officer beheading a Burmese woman with a sword, has been arrested and will be tried for breach of 'privacy rights' by the country's religious court.

Multiple Saudi news outlets have confirmed that the policeman, who was part of the death squad has been arrested in Makkah.

The reports noted that the unidentified policeman will first be referred to the local court and after completion of the investigation, he will also be tried by the Sharia court.

A NYTimes report noted that the arrested policeman will face charges under cybercrime. 

The video shows three uniformed security officers and a professional swordsman in a white gown trying to placate a woman cloaked in black and sitting in the street crying out: "I didn't kill, I didn't kill."

The Saudi court had convicted her of murdering her step-daughter, but she till her last dying breath kept proclaiming her innocence.

The beheading video left the Saudi government, which is already facing international condemnation over the flogging of a liberal activist and blogger Raif Badawi, redfaced.

The Burmese woman, Laila Bint Abdul Muttalib Basim, was put to death in Makkah last Friday after she was found guilty of torturing her seven-year-old stepdaughter to death.

The beheading video soon became an issue of debate among Saudis. The Makkah-based National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) called for stern punishment against the man, who filmed the video, the Gulf News reported.

"Those who disseminated the clip are not less guilty than those who filmed the execution," he said.

However, Saudi bloggers such as Abu Tariq noted: "The wide dissemination of the clip is a positive thing."

Another blogger, writing under the moniker of Mifaq, opposed the move by the Saudi government to punish the man who uploaded the video. "There is no reason to take any action against those who filmed or spread the clip," he said.

The public executions are meant to deter people and using videos only help such a message to reach to more people, he explained.