Saudi Arabia to Behead, Crucify 20-Year-Old for Protesting as a Teen

Ali Mohammed al-Nimir will be beheaded and crucified in Saudi Arabia soon, but he had to comfort his parents when they told him about his sentence.

His parents visited last Friday for only ten minutes. His father, Mohamed al-Nimr, was surprised by his demeanor.

“We were only allowed to see Ali for ten minutes,” Mohamed explained to U.S. Uncut. “When his mother tried to tell him about the news that the execution order has been issued by the government he interrupted her and told her that he already knew. He told us he had accepted this news with a smile on his face and tried to comfort his parents.”

He continued: “Ali turned to me and said, ‘Father, I’m not the only person in the world who has suffered injustice and been falsely prosecuted.’ I was shocked by his response. How could a 20-year-old boy talk like this? It’s unbelievable. To be so unconcerned with his own situation, but be thinking only for others who are suffering… Ali is a beautiful human being.”

Nimir faces death after he lost his final appeal on September 17. Human rights groups are condemning the punishment, especially since he was only 17 when authorities arrested him in 2012 on charges of participating “in illegal protests and of firearm offenses.”

A source close to the family told The Daily Mail Nimir remains positive:

Even in the face of certain death, a source close to his family told MailOnline he ‘has not lost hope’ of surviving this dreadful situation.

From inside his prison cell, the courageous activist told them: ‘I will get out. And if I die, I’ve lived a happy life.’

MailOnline’s source claimed the government is ‘making an example’ of Ali because of the actions of his uncle Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Shi’ite cleric who was also sentenced to death for speaking out against them.

“No one should have to go through the ordeal Ali has suffered – torture, forced ‘confession,’ and an unfair, secret trial process, resulting in a sentence of death by ‘crucifixion,’” exclaimed Maya Foa, the director of the death penalty team at Reprieve. “But worse still, Ali was a vulnerable child when he was arrested and this ordeal began. His execution – based apparently on the authorities’ dislike for his uncle, and his involvement in anti-government protests – would violate international law and the most basic standards of decency. It must be stopped.”

Nimir’s sentence, along with numerous other cases, have led human rights organizations to condemn Saudi Arabia. The oil-rich kingdom nonetheless has been elected to take charge of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (UNHRC). Documents show the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia agreed on a vote-trading deal so both countries could land on the council. Breitbart London reports:

The classified cables showed Britain initiated the talks by asking Saudi Arabia for support ahead of the UNHRC elections. In the end both Britain and Saudi Arabia were elected to the 47 member state body.

One of the cables, referring to the elections, read: “The ministry might find it an opportunity to exchange support with the United Kingdom, where the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would support the candidacy of the United Kingdom to the membership of the council for the period 2014-2015 in exchange for the support of the United Kingdom to the candidacy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

Another document revealed Saudi Arabia transferred $100,000 for “expenditures resulting from the campaign to nominate the Kingdom for membership of the human rights council for the period 2014-2016″ – how this money was deployed, if at all, remains unclear.