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October 15, 2015

Mother of Saudi Protester Sentenced to Death Begs Obama to Intervene 
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In Saudi Arabia, the mother of a protester sentenced to death by
beheading for his role in the 2012 pro-democracy uprising has begged
President Obama to intervene to save her son's life. Ali Mohammed
al-Nimr was arrested at the age of 17 and convicted of encouraging
protests during the Arab Spring. He faces execution any day now. Al-Nimr
is the nephew of a prominent cleric who has also received a death
sentence following pro-democracy protests. His mother, Nusra al-Ahmed,
condemned her son's sentence.

Nusra al-Ahmed: "No sane human being would rule against a child of 17
years old using such a sentence. And why? He didn't shed any blood. He
didn't steal any property."

This comes as Britain has cancelled a multimillion-dollar contract to
provide training to Saudi prison officers, amid concerns about human
rights abuses in the Saudi criminal justice system.

 

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