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The men, whose identities have been withheld, murdered their victims in 2010, and were given the death penalty on Tuesday, two years after the suspects confessed to the crime.

They had been drinking and taking drugs when they killed the five men, media reported. One of victims was said to be "closely connected" to one of the Saudi murderers, the Dubai-based daily Gulf News said.

One of the Indian victims had reportedly been accused of harassing the daughter of their visa sponsor, and were tied up and beaten by the three men for several hours.

They were then thrown into a 1.5-metre hole with their hands tied and mouths gagged, before being buried alive.

"The friend who called us to the farm suggested we bury them in a hole that had been dug in the back of the farm," one of the suspects reportedly confessed.

"We liked the idea and we covered the mouths of the five men with adhesive tape. We moved them on a truck.
The hole was around two metres wide and one-and-a-half metres deep. We buried them alive. My friend and I stayed at the farm for some time before leaving, while my other friend remained there," Saudi daily al-Riyadh reported one of the convicted men saying.

The remains were dug up by a Saudi man renting the farm, who found bones with pieces of clothing and ropes nearby.

The bodies were identified after an identity card and gold ring with the name of the one of the victims inscribed were retrieved at the murder scene.

Police said that the farm had been used for distilling liquor, and four other Indians were arrested in the murder probe for making alcohol, which is illegal in Saudi Arabia.

Riyadh has been widely condemned by human rights groups, both for the frequent use of the death penalty and the poor treatment handed out to migrant workers.

Many videos and reports have emerged in Saudi Arabia suggesting widespread violence, rape and murder against foreign workers by their Saudi sponsors.

Public beheading is the most common form of execution in Saudi Arabia.