Amnesty International – 2015-09-30 11:14:35
http://www.amnesty.org.au/action/action/38122/
ACTION ALERT: Juvenile Activist To Be Executed — Help Him!
Amnesty International
(September 28, 2015) — Arrested at 17. Tortured into Confession. Facing Execution.
Saudi Arabia is among the top three executioners in the world. The number of lives lost to this cruel and inhumane practice will continue to rise unless we stand united against the death penalty.
One person is executed every two days.
Over 130 people executed this year.
Executions are often public.
We now have an opportunity to save a young life before it’s too late….
Ali al-Nimr is facing execution for offences he allegedly committed when he was just 17 years old.
Police arrested Ali and then tortured him to secure a signed confession. His offences were demonstrating against the government, attacking security forces and possessing a weapon.
Not only was Ali’s investigation and trial unfair, but he wasn’t allowed to see his lawyer. Facing the real prospect of death, he has now exhausted all appeals and has no one to turn to but us.
Demand that the Saudi Arabian Ambassador and the President of the Human Rights Commissioner take all necessary steps to ensure Ali’s safety and stop the use of the death penalty.
Background
Stop the execution of young Saudi activist
Ali al-Nimr has been sentenced to death by a Saudi Arabian court for alleged offences committed when he was just 17.
Police arrested Ali in February 2012 amidst the ‘Arab Spring’ protests that swept the Middle East and North Africa.
Ali was not allowed to see his lawyer and says that officers tortured him into confessing to charges including ‘demonstrating against the government’, ‘attacking security forces’, ‘possessing a machine gun’, and ‘armed robbery’.
Ali is the nephew of Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr — a prominent Shi’a cleric and vocal critic of the government’s treatment of the Shi’a minority — who was also sentenced to death in October 2014.
Saudi Arabia is one of the most prolific executioners in the world. In the last 30 years, it has put 2,200 people to death — sometimes for alleged crimes committed before the age of 18, which violates the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Ali has now exhausted all appeals. He will face execution as soon as the King ratifies his death sentence.
We have a window of opportunity to help before it is too late.
Email the Saudi Arabian Ambassador and the President of the Human Rights Commission and insist they revoke Ali’s death sentence immediately and take steps to end capital punishment.
We will also present your names to the King of Saudi Arabia as part of our global action.
ACTION ALERT:
THE LETTER
Your Excellency,
I urge you to quash Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr’s conviction and death sentence, and ensure that he receives a fair trial in line with international law and standards and without recourse to the death penalty. And please investigate his allegation of torture and other ill-treatment.
Saudi Arabia is a state party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by anyone below the age of 18.
Please establish immediately an official moratorium on all executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.
Yours sincerely,
