Human rights activist Israa al-Ghamgham in danger of execution by beheading in Saudi Arabia
Israa al-Ghomgham from
Qatif province has been in detention for 32 months. She was put
before the specialized criminal court (SCC) in Riyadh recently where
the public prosecutor recommended death penalty for six defendants, which
included her as well as her husband Moussa al-Hashem.
"The call
of the public prosecution for a death sentence for the detainee
is a dangerous indicator that the trial outcome will lead to a death
penalty sentence being issued," The European Saudi Organization
for Human Rights (ESOHR) said, adding, because the “Saudi mechanisms
involved in the prosecution process are not independent and serve the
needs of King Salman directly… Israa is being subjected to an unfair
trial, which uses flawed laws and can be regarded as a ‘show trial,’” Sputnik
News reported.
She appeared
on government radars during 2011 protests in Qatif, demanding an end to
anti-Shia discrimination and also the release of political prisoners.
Al-Ghomgham and her husband were detained in a house raid by Saudi
security forces Dec. 8, 2015. Saudi human rights
groups reported she could not afford a lawyer while she was in detention.
However, a lawyer offered service for free after he saw a petition from her
father that sought donations to help cover the 300,000 Saudi riyal
($80,000) cost of providing her with a lawyer.
Human activists are
livid at the recommendation of death penalty with some even ironically pointing
out the nations is a part of the United Nations Council on Human Rights. “Saudi Arabia is
calling for the beheading of female human rights defender Israa Al-Ghomgham
because she participated in peaceful protests. This is the same barbaric regime
which still sits on the UN Women’s Rights Commission,” Sarah Abdallah, an
Independent Lebanese geopolitical commentator tweeted.
"She was a person
who tweeted and supported the protests. Maybe she protested as well. But
the Saudi government is clearly trying to use that to send a message
that we will not spare anyone, woman or not," Ali al Ahmed, director
of the Institute for Gulf Affairs, a Washington, D.C.-based human
rights advocacy group, told Sputnik.
Many media outlets
falsely reported that Ghomgham has already been executed. "The
Thefreethoughts Twitter account and other Saudi sources said the female, named
as Esra al-Ghamgam, was executed on the prosecutor’s orders on Sunday. It
shared a video showing an executioner fixing her in a recumbent position on the
ground before decapitating her with a sword as security forces stood by,” a
source claimed. However, the video
proved to be from an earlier beheading. The nation has often
been subjected to criticisms for executions. According to Human Rights Watch,
Saudi beheaded 48 people in last 4 months with most of them for non-violent
drug charges... read more:
https://www.ibtimes.com/first-womans-execution-saudi-arabia-may-be-supporting-anti-government-protests-2710119Indonesian woman who complained about noisy mosque jailed for blasphemy
