Rights groups to Saudis: Don’t execute Shia youths
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Ali al-Nimr, the nephew of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr who was executed by the Saudi regime in January 2016.
Rights groups have called on the Saudi regime to stop possible executions of three Shia Muslim youths after judges in the monarchy reportedly confirmed death sentences against four men accused of committing “acts of terrorism.”
The calls came after Saudi newspaper Okaz reported that 13 judges considered the cases against the four in three levels of hearings, but did not identify them.
According to international rights groups, the families of the Shia youths are fearful that their sons might be among those facing the death penalty.
The three were arrested for taking part in anti-regime protests while under the age of 18. One of them is Ali al-Nimr, the nephew of prominent cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr who was executed in January. The young Saudi national was 17 when he was detained in 2012.
Amnesty International said Saudi authorities should “immediately stop the planned executions and establish an official moratorium on executions.”
It also called for an impartial probe into allegations of torture by security officers, and urged the regime to fundamentally reform the judicial system to end such “egregious violations.”
ME
