Illustration by Amarjit Sidhu

SAUDI ARABIA: DEATH SENTENCE UPHELD FOR DISABLED MAN ‘TORTURED FOR CONFESSION’

May 28, 2017:

Saudi Arabia has upheld a death sentence for a disabled man, arrested in 2012 on suspicion of taking part in protests and then tortured until he signed a “false confession,” according to a rights group. The decision leaves the man with one last appeal before King Salman makes his execution official.
Munir Adam, 23, was arrested in 2012 for allegedly taking part in protests in the Eastern Province. According to Reprieve, a rights group of international lawyers and investigators, Saudi police “tortured” the man and “forced him to sign a false confession,” which then served “as the sole piece of evidence against him.”
Adam, who already had impaired sight and hearing, allegedly lost complete hearing in one ear as a result of the beatings.
Following the Specialized Criminal Court’s ruling, the accused can now appeal his sentence one last time before the Saudi monarch, King Salman, signs the execution warrant.
Reprieve director Maya Foa described his case as “utterly shocking” and urged US president Donald Trump to “call for the release of Munir, and all others who face execution for simply exercising freedom of expression.”