Saudi Must Halt Execution of Young Activist: UN Experts
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Saudi Arabia must not execute Ali Mohammed, nephew of prominent Saudi Shiite cleric Ayatollah Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, who has been sentenced to death on alleged charges of disturbing the kingdom’s security and defending political prisoners, UN rights experts said.
In a statement, the UN experts said he (Ali) was reportedly tortured, coerced into a confession and denied adequate access to a lawyer before and during a trial that did not meet international standards, AFP reported on Tuesday.
His appeal was also handled "with a complete disregard for international standards," according to the statement.
"Any judgement imposing the death penalty upon persons who were children at the time of the offence, and their execution, are incompatible with Saudi Arabia’s international obligations," the experts said.
Al-Nimr "may be executed at any time," the statement added.
Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was in high school in 2012 when he joined reform protests in Qatif in the eastern part of the kingdom.
Amnesty international said in August that at least 2,208 people were executed between January 1985 and June 2015 in Saudi Arabia, nearly half of them foreigners, adding that juvenile offenders and people with mental disabilities were among them.
The UN panel said 134 people have been executed in the kingdom this year, 44 more than last year's total.
"We urge the Saudi authorities to establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, halt executions of persons convicted who were children at the time of the offence, and ensure a prompt and impartial investigation into all alleged acts of torture,” the UN experts said.
