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Middle EastJoint statement from 48 coalitions, networks and human rights organizations from 12 Arab countries
Article by The Arab Coalition Against the Death Penalty published on January 06th, 2016The statement strongly condemns the execution of Nimr Baqir al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia and renewed its demand for Saudi Arabia to support the United Nations resolution on a global moratorium on the death penalty and to abolish the death penalty in national legislation.
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The Coalition against the Death Penalty and the human rights organizations undersigned expresses shock and utter condemnation of the massacre of mass executions which claimed the lives of 45 Saudi nationals and one Egyptian in addition to another Chadian, which were carried out in Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year 2016.
They express great concern at the growing phenomenon of the political use of the death penalty, which befell the political opposition Nimr Baqir al-Nimr who was a prisoner of conscience and was executed on political background after he announced an opposition point of view against the political authority of Saudi Arabia. Many human rights organizations and bodies, which has been demanding the humanization of the criminal justice, ensuring of the right to life, and signing of the United Nations Declaration moratorium on the death penalty pending the effective abolition of the death penalty from national legislation, have been appealing and calling to release him or submit him to a fair and equitable trial, but Saudi authorities ignored all that, executed him, and the confiscated his body.
Our organizations call for the countries that resort to execution, Saudi Arabia in particular, to abandon the policy of elimination and deliberate exclusion of political opponents and the adoption of unfair trials under their names and weak arguments, like fomenting sedition and disturbing public order. At a time when Nimr Baqir al-Nimr demanded from within his country for political rights of Saudi citizens and that the people be the source of authorities, and he expressed his opinion calling for the right of the people to choose their rulers, and such views cannot be included within the crimes punishable by law.
Our organizations also express their deep regret that the majority of the official international community ignored the deterioration of the human rights situation in Saudi Arabia, for many years, either in anticipation of its natural resources, its oil reservoir, or unjustified exploitation of its major financial capabilities. we considers that the policy of double standards in the rights of peoples human rights issues in this country, or other countries, is a real threat to international peace and security, and it is one of the core causes of the growing phenomenon of terrorism in the world, and we call on the international community to shoulder full responsibility in drying the sources of intellectual, financial, and colonial racism and other.
Read the statement and see the list of signatories here
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