A Saudi court has upheld a ruling to behead and crucify a man convicted of raping five children and leaving one of them to die in the desert

The convict was arrested earlier in 2009 after a seven-year old boy helped police in their investigation. The child left in the desert after the rape was three years old. International rights groups have accused the kingdom, the birthplace of Islam, of applying draconian justice, beheading murderers, rapists and drug traffickers in public. So far this year about 40 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia. In Saudi Arabia, crucifixion means tying the body of the convict to wooden beams to be displayed to the public after beheading.