Sept. 25
SAUDI ARABIA:
Parents of Saudi Juvenile Set for 'Crucifixion' Plead for Mercy, Amid UK and US
Silence
The family of a juvenile sentenced to 'crucifixion' in Saudi Arabia have
appealed to the Saudi authorities to spare him, as pressure mounts on the US
and the UK to intervene.
Speaking to AFP, Mohamed al-Nimr said he hoped the King would save his son,
student Ali al-Nimr, who was 17 when he was arrested in 2012 in the wake of
protests in the Eastern Province. Ali was tortured into signing a false
'confession', which was then used to convict him, and it emerged last week that
the unusually harsh sentence had recently been upheld without Ali's knowledge.
With legal avenues now exhausted, Ali could be executed at any moment, with no
prior notification of his family. Mr al-Nimr said "we hope that the king will
not sign" the execution order for his son.
The appeal comes as the UK and the US - strong allies of the Saudi government -
faced questions on their failure to speak out about the case. Questioned
yesterday by AP, US State Department spokesman Mark C Toner refused to say he'd
welcome a commutation of the sentence, saying that he was "not aware of the
case."
The UK government has so far limited itself to a brief statement last week that
"We continue to raise our human rights concerns with the Saudi authorities,
including their use of the death penalty." The Ministry of Justice has also
faced criticism after it indicated that it would continue with an ongoing bid
to provide prison services to the Saudi government.
In contrast, the French government yesterday joined UN experts in calling for
the death sentence to be commuted, because Ali was a juvenile at the time of
his arrest. The French Foreign Ministry said it was "concerned by the situation
of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, who was sentenced to death even though he was a minor
at the time of the events [...] We call for the execution to be called off."
The group of independent United Nations human rights experts on Tuesday asked
the Saudi authorities "to immediately halt the scheduled execution", and to
ensure a "fair retrial" of Ali.
Commenting, Maya Foa, director of Reprieve's death penalty team, said: "Saudi
Arabia's plans to behead and crucify Ali al-Nimr, a juvenile, for attending a
protest are an outrage - the French government and UN experts are right to be
calling for it to be cancelled. It's deeply troubling that the UK and the US -
both close allies of the Saudi government - are staying silent. The
international community must stand firm against this utterly unjustified
sentence, and call on the Saudi authorities to change course."
(source: commondreams.org)
**********
US expresses 'deep concern' over Saudi death row youth
The United States expressed alarm on Thursday over the case of a Saudi Arabian
who was sentenced to death for his alleged role in anti-government protests as
a teenager.
Saudi Arabia is a close ally of the United States, but State Department
spokesman John Kirby said Washington was "deeply concerned" about the case of
Ali Mohammed al-Nimr.
The United States, where the death penalty is used in several states, did not
condemn the sentence itself, but echoed the growing international outcry over
the young man's trial and failed appeal.
"We are deeply concerned by the case of al-Nimr, who was sentenced to death
although he was a minor at the time or his arrest, and by allegations that his
sentence was based on a confession made under duress," Kirby said.
"We call on the government of Saudi Arabia to respect universal human rights
and its international obligations to ensure fair and transparent judicial
proceedings that afford requisite fair trial and safeguards in this and on all
cases."
Ali al-Nimr, a manner of Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority, was a 17-year-old
schoolboy in 2012 when he joined an Arab Spring-style pro-reform protest in
Qatif in the eastern part of the kingdom.
He was sentenced to death for allegedly belonging to an illegal organization
and his last appeal failed recently, leaving him facing execution, probably by
decapitation.
Earlier this week, a panel of United Nations legal experts complained that his
appeal was been handled "with a complete disregard for international
standards."
"Any judgment imposing the death penalty upon persons who were children at the
time of the offense, and their execution, are incompatible with Saudi Arabia's
international obligations," the UN experts said.
The UN panel said 134 people have already been executed in the kingdom this
year, 44 more than in the whole of last year.
In August, Amnesty international reported that at least 2,208 people were
executed between January 1985 and June 2015 in Saudi Arabia, nearly half of
them foreigners.
Ali al-Nimr's father Mohammed al-Nimr has called on Saudi Arabia's King Salman,
who was received with great pomp this month at the White House, not to sign his
son's death warrant.
Ali is the nephew of Nimr al-Nimr, a Shiite religious leader who is also on
death row.
Nimr al-Nimr was a driving force behind demonstrations that began 4 years ago
in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province.
Most of Sunni-majority Saudi Arabia's Shiites live in the east, and have
complained of marginalization.
Ali al-Nimr's father admitted that his son, then a high school student, had
joined thousands of other people in protest.
But he insisted that Ali was innocent on numerous other charges including
burglary, attacking police and using a Molotov cocktail.
(source: Yahoo news)
***************
Saudi Arabia should immediately halt execution of juvenile Ali Mohammed al-Nimr
Ali Mohammed al-Nimr has been sentenced to death by crucifixion for his
participation in an illegal demonstration during the Arab Spring pro democracy
uprising, despite the fact that at the time of the offence, he was a minor. He
could be executed at any moment.
"Saudi Arabia has already reached a macabre record of executions, with far more
people executed thus far in 2015 than in all of 2014. Ali's execution would be
the paradigm of horror of the country's application of the capital sentence"
declared Karim Lahidji, FIDH President. "If it carries out the sentence, Saudi
Arabia would be in violation of all international standards and commit a
terrible crime."
Ali al-Nimr, a high school student, had just turned 17 when he was arrested on
14 February 2012 during an anti-government protest in the Shiite province of
Qatif. He was charged by the authorities with participating in illegal protests
and other offences including "insulting the King and delivering religious
sermons that 'disrupt national unity'", "explaining how to give first aid to
protestors", and "using his blackberry to invite others to join him at the
protest". Ali was held in pre trial detention for 2 years without access to his
laywer, severely tortured, and forced to sign a false confession. During his
trial, he was not given access to the evidence against him, and was informed of
the charges at a very late stage of the proceedings. His forced confession was
the only evidence brought against him. Ali was sentenced to death by
crucificion on 27 May 2014 and even his final appeal was held in secret.
"International law prohibits using evidence obtained under torture.
International law also prohibits to impose the death penalty on persons who
were children at the time of the offence. This execution would thus be clearly
incompatible with Saudi Arabia's international obligations under the UN
Convention on the Rights of the Child, that it ratified" added Karim Lahidji.
Ali's case seems to be linked to the case against his uncle, Sheikh Nimr
al-Nimr, a 53-year old critic of the Saudi regime, and a prominent religious
leader in the Kingdom. Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has also been sentenced to death in
his case.
"These proceedings are a complete mockery of justice. This sentence amounts to
crual and inhumane treatement. If executed, Ali would be crucified for having
exercised his right to freedom of expression. We urgently call on the
international community to mobilise against this state crime that would shock
the conscience of humanity" affirmed Karim Lahidji.
FIDH, who is a member of the World Coalition against the death Penalty,
strongly opposes the death penalty for all crimes and in all circumstances and
works with its member organisations for its global abolition. The death penalty
constitutes an inhumane treatment. FIDH has further documented that the death
penalty is commonly pronounced after unfair trials, and its application is
often discriminatory. FIDH recalls that the so called deterrent effect of the
death penalty has never been proven.
(source: FIDH)
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