The father of a Saudi youth facing execution for taking part in pro-reform protests appealed to King Salman on Wednesday to spare his life. The sentence against Ali al-Nimr, only 17 when he was arrested in February 2012, has drawn international condemnation over his young age at the time and allegations that he was tortured into making a confession.
It is the latest case to highlight the death penalty and human rights in the Islamic kingdom, which Amnesty International says is one of the world's most prolific executioners. In an interview with AFP, Mohammed al-Nimr said he hoped the king would save his son.
"We hope that the king will not sign" the execution order, Nimr said, after Saudi Arabia's highest court confirmed the death sentence, leaving his son's fate in the hands of the king. Nimr warned that if his son is put to death the minority Shiite community could react violently, something he does not want to happen. We don't need that; we don't need even one drop of blood," he said.
The youth is a nephew of Nimr al-Nimr, a Shiite religious leader who is also on death row. Mohammed al-Nimr, a Dammam businessman, was in Riyadh to visit his jailed brother for the Muslim feast of sacrifice, Eid al-Adha, which falls on Thursday.
Nimr al-Nimr was a driving force behind demonstrations that began four years ago in Eastern Province. Most of Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia's Shiites live in the east, and have complained of marginalisation.
