In a rare example of a ruling family member subjected to the death penalty, Saudi Arabia authorities executed a prince in Riyadh after a court found him guilty of shooting dead a fellow Saudi.

The Ministry of Interior said in a statement on state news agency SPA, that, Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir had pleaded guilty to shooting Adel al-Mohaimeed after a brawl.

Abdul-Rahman al-Lahim, a prominent Saudi lawyer, said that, “The greatest thing is that the citizen sees the law applied to everyone, and that there are not big people and other small people.”

“The government.. is keen to keep order, stabilise security and bring about justice through implementing the rules prescribed by Allah,” said the ministry statement.

Members of Saudi Arabia's ruling family are only rarely known to have been executed. One of the most prominent cases was Faisal bin Musaid al Saud, who assassinated his uncle, King Faisal, in 1975.

The family is estimated to number several thousand. While members receive monthly stipends, and the most senior princes command great wealth and political power, only a few in the family hold nationally important government posts.

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Nandini