Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was apprehended aged 17 after a closed trial found him guilty of encouraging pro-democracy protests using his Blackberry. Thousands of young protesters have been sentenced to death for speaking against the government.
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Zena Esia, from the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights said: “The only way to get Ali out of this would be a royal pardon”. Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr is awaiting execution this week and Ali’s impending execution seems to be more of a lesson for activists than having any real issues.
Critics of the regime say he is innocent of the charges and is really being killed because of his closeness with his outspoken uncle Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr who was also sentenced to death in 2014.
“Whether he will be released or not depends on what the king decides”. There is a lot of pressure going on at the United Nations. His appeal was also handled “with a complete disregard for global standards”, according to the statement. Saudi Arabia executed three child offenders in 2013.
So when word spread about al-Nimr last week, social media users organized a Twitter storm to bring his case to the forefront.
Global law states that arms deals should be prohibited if there is a risk they could be used to commit war crimes or human rights abuses, the charity said.
Another instance of the horrific and authoritarian Saudi Arabia rule, a 21-year old boy will soon be crucified.
Despite this risk, Esia said silence is not an option.
US-based Human Rights Watch claimed the trial of Ali al-Nimr was marred by “serious due process violations”, and the court failed to investigate his allegations that he had been tortured in detention.
The rate of executions in Saudi Arabia is surpassed only by China and Iran. Saudi Arabia earlier withdrew a controversial bid to head up the council in the face of criticism of its human rights record.
“Any judgment imposing the death penalty upon persons who were children at the time of the offence, and their execution, are incompatible with Saudi Arabia’s global obligations”, the experts said.
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Since King Salman came to power in January, the country has continued executions, reportedly surpassing 100 for the year so far.
