Saudi Pro-Democracy Protester Ali Mohammed al-Nimr may be beheaded and crucified. Will Ed Royce speak up?

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A few months ago I met a lady, a friend of a friend, who had just come back from Saudi Arabia. She had lived in that country for at least 20 years, married to a Saudi national, travelling back and forth until her aging mentally ill husband took a turn for the worst. He had left her with no resources of her own, she would have to depend on her brother in laws, so she decided it was time to settle in the US to spend her senior years.

Listening to her perspective was fascinating, she was born in South America and immigrated to the US when she was a teenager and met her husband here. Except for the lavish life of the Saudi nationals, her experience confirmed the disturbing aspects of that country: the patriarchal society, the extreme disadvantage of women, the overt abuse of foreign labor, the harsh moral code and the power of the religious police, the brutal punishing laws.

Two recent situations involving the treatment of dissidents reminded me of the conversation with that lady. You may remember Raif Badawi, a blogger who was sentenced to 10  years in prison and 1000 lashes. The first 50 lashes were executed on January, and the remaining have been postponed due to his poor health condition and calls from people around the world to stop this punishment.

This week, the mother of a 19 years old Saudi is begging for his life to be spared. This young man participated in a protest when he was 17 years old, arrested, and accused on charges that he claims were extracted under torture. He has been sentenced to death by beheading and crucifixion, according to this newspaper report.

I had not paid much attention to the relevance of Ed Royce, until a recent conversation here at the OJB on his performance as Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affair. Let’s  contact him  on he plight of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr and ask him to object to the execution  this young man.

” In sentencing Ali, a juvenile offender, to death, Saudi Arabia has violated its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which bans capital punishment for people under 18. Saudi Arabia is one of the most prolific executioners in the world. So far this year, it has executed at least 134 people, including individuals who were younger than 18 when they committed their crimes, and people with intellectual disabilities. All appeals against Ali’s execution have been exhausted. He could be executed as soon as the King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, ratifies his sentence. ”

Saudi Arabia must not execute Ali al-Nimr. Join Amnesty right now to save this young man’s life.