Syrians protest beheading of one of their countrymen in Saudi Arabia

Scores of Syrians are protesting in Damascus on Saturday against Saudi Arabia's beheading of a countryman convicted of drug smuggling. Syrian Ibrahim al-Jarekh was beheaded Friday in Saudi Arabia two weeks after two other Syrians were beheaded there on the same charge. Nearly 100 protesters held a sit-in to demand that Saudi hand over other Syrian prisoners. One of the protesters, 38-year-old Abdul-Karim Mohammad, said his brother has been in Saudi jails for four months and is waiting execution on drug charges. "These are politically motivated verdicts," Mohammed said.