Saudi Arabia flogs and jails royal prince

Saudi Arabia has flogged a prince for an undisclosed crime in the coastal city of Jeddah, a local newspaper reported Wednesday.

According to Okaz, the unnamed royal underwent the ordeal along with several other convicts, just weeks after another Saudi royal was executed for murder. The number of lashes received by the prince was not specified, however the kingdom has in recent years dished out as many as 1,000 lashes to convicts.

In October, Prince Turki bin Saud al-Kabir was executed after being found guilty of shooting and killing Adel al-Mahemid, a Saudi citizen, during a fight.
 
While many of those executed in the ultra conservative kingdom are migrant workers or foreign nationals, the execution of a royal was a rare and uncanny show of the country's harsh penal code being implemented regardless of the convict's social standing.

The death penalty in Saudi Arabia is carried out often by sword, and is carried out for crimes including murder, drug trafficking, rape and apostasy.

Flogging has been used by the kingdom to silence critics and limit free speech, with Saudi rights activist Raif Badawi among those handed the harsh punishment in recent years.

Badawi, a Saudi blogger, was arrested in 2012 and convicted for "insulting Islam". He is currently serving a 10-year jail sentence and is due to receive a total of 1,000 lashes.