A 41-year-old man has been executed in Yemen after he was convicted of raping and killing a three-year-old girl.

Muhammad al-Maghrabi was shot to death with an AK-style rifle in the capital of Sanaa on Monday.

Pictures show Maghrabi laying on the floor with his hands bound behind his back before a soldier standing over him opens fire.

The execution was watched by a crowd of thousands who gathered in the city’s main square.

Maghrabi was brought there by prison van before being laid down on a rug where he was fatally shot through the back.

Television cameras broadcast the sentence across the country while viewers filmed it on their phones.

Sharia law is the source of all legislation in Yemen, according to a US State Department report.

Under the law murder is punishable by the death sentence, thought the family of the victim do have the power to lessen the punishment.

While beheading is common, sharia does not specify how the death sentence should be carried out.

Source: Dailymail