death penalty

The family of a disabled man who faces execution in Saudi Arabia for allegedly attending protests have appealed for help to save his life and have given fresh details of the abuses he has suffered.

The Maldives authorities must immediately halt its first execution planned in more than 60 years and preserve its positive death penalty record, Amnesty International said yesterday.

A government minister has condemned the use of the death penalty by Saudi Arabia in response to questions in Parliament about the imminent execution of 14 men for protest-related offences, including a number who were children at the time of their alleged offences. The group includes a disabled man and a promising student who was just 17 when he was arrested on his way to study in the United States.

Saudi Arabia has upheld a protest-related death sentence for a protester who was tortured so badly that he was rendered completely deaf in one ear. The judgment marks the first such move for several months, and comes days after President Trump visited the Kingdom.