Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr

Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr[1] (Arabic: علي محمد باقر النمر‎; born 1994/1995[2]) is a Saudi Arabian political prisoner who has participated in the Saudi Arabian protests during the Arab Spring as a teenager.[2][3] He was arrested in February 2012, sentenced to death in May 2014, and previously awaited ratification of his sentence by King Salman of Saudi Arabia, which was to be carried out by beheading and crucifixion, respectively.[2][3][4] Al-Nimr's trial was called unfair by Professor of Human Rights Law Christof Heyns,[5] and Amnesty International,[3] as well as French President François Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls,[6][7] who called for the execution to be stopped. Ali al-Nimr is the nephew of Sheikh Nimr Baqr al-Nimr, who was one of the 47 executed citizens during the 2016 Saudi Arabian mass execution.[8] Ali al-Nimr's death sentence is presumed to have been overturned in April 2020 following several announcements from the Saudi government that people convicted as minors under 18 years of age are not to be executed.[9]

Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr[1]
علي محمد باقر النمر
Born1994/1995 (age 25–26)[2]
Al-Awamiyah
Known for2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests, death penalty[2]

Background, arrest, and sentencing

Al-Nimr participated in the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests during the Arab Spring.[2] According to a court judgment, he "encouraged pro-democracy protests using a BlackBerry smartphone".[2][8] Al-Nimr was arrested on 14 February 2012.[3] According to al-Nimr's father, the arrest was carried out by secret police ramming into him with their vehicle on a moonless night, resulting in multiple fractures and other injuries. Ali al-Nimr was hospitalised for several days.[10] He was detained at a General Directorate of Investigations (GDI) prison in Dammam.[3] He stated that he was repeatedly and severely tortured during his detention.[2][3]

On 27 May 2014 al-Nimr was sentenced to death on charges of participation in anti-government demonstrations, having a weapon and using violence.[3] His appeals to the Saudi Arabian Specialized Criminal Court and Supreme Court were rejected.[3]

Before April 2020, al-Nimr was awaiting ratification by King Salman of Saudi Arabia, after which his sentence of crucifixion and beheading would be carried out.[2][3] Dawoud al-Marhoon, who had also been arrested as a 17-year old in 2012 during Eastern Province protests, was also sentenced to death by beheading, in early October 2015. He was tortured during his detention, and was convicted on the basis of a forced confession.[11] As of 2020, Ali al-Nimr was still on death row, although the Saudi government has announced that the death penalty will no longer be applied to people convicted as minors, thus tentatively overturning Ali al-Nimr's death sentence.[12][9]

Subsequent events and tentative pardon

Amnesty International said that the trial was unfair, describing it as "deeply flawed."[3] They claimed refusal by authorities to allow al-Nimr regular access to his lawyer, refusal to allow him pen and paper, refusal to allow his lawyer to cross-examine witnesses, and the failure of authorities to inform al-Nimr's lawyer about the dates of several court hearings.[3] Al-Nimr's appeal was heard in secret.[2]

In September 2015, supporters in the United Kingdom, including Leader of the Opposition Jeremy Corbyn, put pressure on the UK government to ask Saudi authorities to stop the execution.[2][13] Christof Heyns, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, and Benyam Mezmur, the chair of the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Child, together with other UN human rights experts, also called on the Saudi government to stop the execution and called for al-Nimr to be given a fair trial.[5] On 23 and 24 September, French President François Hollande and Prime Minister Manuel Valls requested Saudi authorities to cancel the execution sentence.[6][7]

On 27 September 2015, Anonymous claimed to have disabled several Saudi Arabian governmental websites for a few hours in protest against the death sentence, stating that: "Anonymous will not stand by and watch. We cannot and will not allow this to happen."[14] As of 2 October 2015, a petition launched by Avaaz calling for the sentence to be cancelled had gathered more than a million signatures in less than 24 hours.[15]

In April 2020, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced that the death penalty shall no longer be applied to people who were convicted as minors under 18 years of age, and will instead be replaced with placement in a juvenile detention facility for a period not exceeding 10 years at the maximum, thus tentatively overturning Ali al-Nimr's death sentence.[9]

Personal life

Ali Mohammed al-Nimr was born in Al-Awamiyah, Saudi Arabia. He attended the Altarfih al-Sahil High School. While he was in prison, he completed his high school education. He also enjoys and played football, and his favorite sports team is AC Milan. He has one older brother and one older sister. Ali al-Nimr is a nephew of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr,[8] an independent Shia Sheikh who was popular among the youth and a prominent critic of the Saudi Arabian government.[16][17] Sheikh Nimr was arrested on 8 July 2012,[18] sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court on 15 October 2014 for anti-government activities,[19] and executed on or shortly before 2 January 2016. Ali al-Nimr's family believes that this relationship is the reason for his arrest and sentencing.[8]

See also

References
  1. "Saudi Arabia: Death penalty for juvenile activist: Ali Mohammed Baqir al-Nimr". Amnesty International. 3 June 2014. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
  2. Hartley, Eve (22 September 2015). "Ali Mohammed Al-Nimr Sentenced To Crucifixion In Saudi Arabia For Attending Pro-Democracy Protest". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 2019-09-03.
  3. "Saudi Arabia: Stop execution of Ali al-Nimr". Amnesty International. 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
  4. "When Beheading Won't Do the Job, the Saudis Resort to Crucifixion". The Atlantic. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  5. Withnall, Adam (24 September 2015). "Ali Mohammed al-Nimr crucifixion: UN issues urgent call for Saudi Arabia to stay execution of juvenile offender". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  6. "Arabie saoudite : Hollande défend Ali al-Nimr" (in French). Le Figaro/AFP. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  7. "Après Hollande, Valls demande à l'Arabie saoudite de renoncer à exécuter Ali al-Nimr" (in French). BFM TV. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  8. Crowcroft, Orlando (27 September 2015). "Who is Ali Mohammed al-Nimr and why is Saudi Arabia planning to behead and crucify him?". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
  9. Rose, David G.; Rothwell, James (27 April 2020). "Saudi Arabia ends death penalty for minors and flogging". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  10. Ez, Eléonore Abou; Chémali, Alain (26 September 2015). "Exclusif: le père d'Ali al-Nimr a vu son fils et garde l'espoir de le sauver" (in French). Géopolis France Télévisions. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  11. "Second Saudi juvenile to face 'beheading' for protests". Reprieve. 6 October 2015. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-08.
  12. "Ali Al-Nimr: Six Years Between the Sword and Freedom". European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights. 15 February 2018. Archived from the original on 11 November 2018. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
  13. "Cameron urged to intervene over planned execution of Saudi protester". The Guardian. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  14. Withnall, Adam (27 September 2015). "Ali Mohammed al-Nimr: Anonymous hacker group targets Saudi Arabia government over planned execution of juvenile offender". The Independent. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 2015-09-27.
  15. Ez, Eléonore Abou (2 October 2015). "Plus d'un million de signatures pour sauver le jeune Saoudien Ali al-Nimr" (in French). Géopolis France Télévisions. Archived from the original on 5 October 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-05.
  16. Gfoeller, Michael (23 August 2008). "Meeting with controversial Shi'a sheikh Nimr". WikiLeaks. WikiLeaks cable: 08RIYADH1283. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-23. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. Matthiesen, Toby (23 January 2012). "Saudi Arabia: the Middle East's most under-reported conflict". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 23 January 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-23.
  18. Al Sharif, Asma; Angus McDowall; Sami Aboudi; Christopher Wilson (8 July 2012). "Saudi police arrest prominent Shi'ite Muslim cleric". Thomson Reuters. Archived from the original on 10 July 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-10.
  19. "Saudi Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr 'sentenced to death'". BBC News. 15 October 2014. Archived from the original on 15 October 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-15.
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