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Saudis to Behead 23-yo Disabled Man for Protesting Government

Saudis to Behead 23-yo Disabled Man for Protesting Government
folder_openMiddle East... access_time7 years ago
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The Sunni kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, is expected to decapitate a disabled 23-year-old man who was sentenced to death for participating in anti-government protests in the eastern part of the country.

Saudis to Behead 23-yo Disabled Man for Protesting Government

Munir al-Adam is awaiting his execution after being sentenced for alleged "attacks on police," among other crimes, which prosecutors claim he partook in during a series of protests in 2011, the Independent reported.

Adam, who is appealing his sentence, was reportedly arrested in February 2012 when he was 18 years old and accused of taking part in protests in his hometown of Qatif the previous year.

"There are regular protests in the [Qatif] area against the Saudi government."

"The 23-year-old is partially blind and was already partially deaf at the time of arrest; he alleges he is now completely deaf in one ear as a result of being severely beaten by police," the Independent added.

In a statement, his family rejected the verdict and noted that Adam was tortured into confessing to the alleged crimes, the Times reported.

The Independent cited Adam as indicating that "he had only signed a document admitting the offenses after being repeatedly beaten."

Adam reportedly noted that he had been accused of "sending texts" when he was too poor to own a cell phone.

"Munir Adam's appalling case illustrates how the Saudi authorities are all too happy to subject the most vulnerable people to the swordsman's blade," declared Maya Foa, of human rights organization Reprieve.

"Saudi Arabia's close allies, including the UK, must urge the kingdom to release Munir, along with juveniles and others who were sentenced to death for protesting."

As of mid-October, Saudi Arabia executed 134 people in 2016, most of them by public beheading, according to a tally by Agence France-Presse [AFP] and Human Rights Watch.

"Most people executed in Saudi Arabia are convicted for murder and drug trafficking, although nearly 50 people convicted of terrorism offences were put to death on a single day in January, among them the prominent cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr," noted the BBC.

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team

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