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Of course, in Saudi, you always talk to some one who got it from who witnessed an amputation, or flogging, or stoning. On my last trip to Saudi, i talked to a fellow that said they used a Knife and had a bandage ready to stop the bleeding.
After the Mecca riots in 1980, they executed 40, carrying them all over the Kingdom to share the joy of watching some ones head being beat off with a dull sword. I also heard that passersby are required to witness punishment, Or so say the legends. These are just the stories I heard while in the KSA.

Although I never witnessed it personally, I was told that the Saudis actually lop a hand off as humanely as possible. The amputee must have been convicted three times of theft. The amputation is carried out by a physician who anesthetizes the thief; immediately following the lopping, the doctor cauterizes the site. Now THAT’S civilized! During the trial, the testimony of three women equals that of one man. For capital cases, the murderer is relieved of his head publicly on Fridays after prayers. The Interior Ministry published the results in the Saturday English Language Dailies. We called that column “The Decap Recap.”