It was reported this week that the final appeal to the Saudi courts by 17-year-old Mohammed al-Nimr had been dismissed, meaning his sentence to death by crucifixion for anti-government activities in 2012 is likely to be carried out. However, the accused had repeatedly denied the charges of possessing arms but a confession was allegedly forced out of him by the dint of torture soon after his detention. “But worse still, Ali was a vulnerable child when he was arrested and this ordeal began”.
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Campaigners hope Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz will pardon death row prisoner Ali Mohammed al-Nimr on the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha this week.
Reprieve writes: “The government appears to have rested its case against him in large part on his relation to Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent religious leader in the Kingdom and human rights activist”.
Sheikh al-Nimr was a strong and active opponent of the Saudi ruling family.
Human rights groups are saying that with the dismissal of his appeal, al-Nimr has exhausted all legal means available to fight the death sentence and thus his execution could take place any day following the execution of his uncle on Thursday, September 17, according to worldwide Business Times. Many activists feel that his execution is more of a plan and an act of revenge as Ali Nimr’s uncle was a staunchly against the government and openly rebelled against the rulers.
The legal system of world’s last absolute monarchy has always been dubbed as arbitrary and unjust. Saudi Arabia regime seems to be unmoved even by the vast global outrage.
After Ali’s arrest, the 17-year-old was denied a lawyer, tortured to give a “forced confession”, and subjected to an unfair judicial trial. “It’s pretty shocking that this person was convicted as a juvenile and is now set to be executed”.
On the other hand, the Shia factions, which are under shock over the punishment, have said that the sentence will very much reduce the credibility of the state among Shiites.
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Online, meanwhile, the Internet protested against the planned execution, under the hashtag #FreeNimr.
