Saudi authorities on Monday severed the hand of a Yemeni national convicted of repeated theft, under the strict rules of Islamic sharia law applied in the kingdom.

A court had ordered the amputation of Ibrahim Abdulrahman Hazbar’s right hand after convicting him of a “series of thefts”, the interior ministry said.

The punishment was carried out in the western city of Mecca, home to the holiest sites in Islam.

Rape, murder, apostasy, drug trafficking and armed robbery are all punishable by death in the ultra-conservative kingdom.

According to an AFP tally, 80 convicts have been executed in the country this year, despite international concerns over the number and judicial process.