Desert kingdom willing to spill royal blood, writes Raf Sanchez Saudi Arabia has executed one of its princes for the first time in 40 years, sending what analysts described as a "strong message" to younger royals that they are not above the law.Prince Turki bin Saud bin Turki bin Saud al-Kabeer was beheaded this week for murder after he shot a man during a brawl at a desert camp in 2012.His death sentence was confirmed by a decree issued by King Salman himself, a distant cousin of the executed man.While criminal acts committed by Saudi royals are sometimes censored, the execution of Prince Turki, who was in his twenties, was widely reported through state media.The interior ministry released a statement saying the execution was proof of the government's commitment to "implement the rules of Allah everywhere and against anyone who kills civilians and commits bloodshed".The prince, one of an estimated 6,000 royals, hailed from the al-Kabeer branch of the family, which is not directly in line to the throne but nonetheless holds a prominent position in the complex royal hierarchy.Prince Turki was arrested after killing Abdul Karim Mohaimeed in December 2012, according to media reports. Another man was injured in the shooting. The two men were involved in a fight at a desert camp to which many young Saudis drive to get away from their parents.According to one report, the prince became enraged after an argument and went to his Lexus and returned with a Glock pistol. He killed Mohaimeed and injured another man.A grainy video on Iranian TV claimed to show the quarrel that led to the shooting. A group of men in traditional garb can be seen milling around before one figure in dark clothing begins firing bursts of shots."This ruling and execution was a strong message sent to the royals, young royals and to Saudis in general that no one is above the law," said Fahad Nazer, a senior political analyst at JTG Inc, an analysis firm.The execution came a few weeks after King Salman gave a high-profile address in which he declared that no member of the royal family, including himself, was immune from prosecution or lawsuits in the civil courts.The Saudi government is grappling with how to reduce generous welfare payments in response to the falling price of oil. The kingdom has for decades kept its population in line with salaries and subsidies, but a reforming new deputy crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has cut those back.The execution may be a way of signalling to the public at a time of austerity that the royal family is being treated no differently.The last time a prince was executed was in 1975. The prince, Faisal bin Musaid, shot King Faisal, his uncle, inside his palace and was later beheaded in front of a crowd in Riyadh. It is unclear whether the assassin was mentally unstable or had a grudge against the king.Prince Turki faced a similar fate, according to a description of his final hours given by an imam at a mosque next to the square where he was killed.Members of his family came to the square and pleaded with the father of the dead man to pardon the prince in exchange for several hundred thousand pounds in compensation .But the father refused to accept the blood money and a heavy-set swordsman arrived to behead the prince. His own father watched as his son was executed.Prince Turki was the 134th person executed in Saudi Arabia this year. Amnesty International said the kingdom carried out at least 158 death sentences last year, the third-highest rate of known executions after Iran and Pakistan.Amnesty's figures do not include numbers for China, which does not announce its executions but is believed to be the world's largest state killer with more than a thousand a year.- The Daily Telegraph..