Saudi police torture two Pakistani transgenders to death

KARACHI: Two transgender Pakistanis have allegedly been beaten to death by police in Saudi Arabia after being arrested.

The two were arrested, along with 33 other people, in the capital city of Riyadh for cross-dressing in public, which is a punishable crime in Saudi Arabia.

The two victims, identified as Meeno, 26, and Amna, 35, were reportedly in a rest house for cross-dressers and transgender women during a formal gathering when the police raided the site.

Police found women clothes and jewellery and proceeded to apprehend all 35 people in the rest house.

Media reports said police allegedly beat Meeno and Amna with sticks until they were dead.

There was no official word from Pakistani authorities in Saudi Arabia or Islamabad over the incident.

The Saudi government has strict laws against homosexuality and cross-dressing.