Saudi Arabia Prepares to Execute Teenager via “Crucifixion” for Political Dissent

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Just last evening, I posted an article about how the UN disgracefully named Saudi Arabia to head its human rights panel.

So how do the Saudis plan on celebrating this achievement? By executing a teenager via crucifixion, naturally.

I covered this story back in May in the piece, Not ISIS – Saudi Arabia Prepares to Execute and Publicly Display Beheaded Body of Political Activist in “Crucifixion.” Here are a few excerpts:

The Saudis have received a lot of bad press as of late due to it consistently breaking its own records for beheadings, but sometimes a simple beheading isn’t sufficient. In a punishment known as “crucifixion,” the executed person’s beheaded body is placed on public display for three days. Currently facing this fate are three political activists, including two children. We learn from Reprieve.org that:

Sheikh Nimr Baqir Al Nimr, a 53-year old critic of the Saudi regime, and two juveniles, Ali Mohammed al-Nimr and Dawoud Hussain al-Marhoon, were arrested during a 2012 crackdown on anti-government protests in the Shiite province of Qatif. After a trial marred by irregularities, Mr Al Nimr was sentenced to death by crucifixion on charges including ‘insulting the King’ and delivering religious sermons that ‘disrupt national unity’. This week, it emerged that the authorities plan to execute him on Thursday, despite protests from the UN and Saudi human rights organizations.

The planned execution of Mr Al Nimr has prompted fears for the safety of the two juveniles, who were both 17 when they were arrested and eventually sentenced to death on similar charges. Both teenagers were tortured and denied access to lawyers, and faced trials that failed to meet international standards. All three prisoners, including Mr Al Nimr, have not yet exhausted their legal appeals.

Now here’s the latest. From Mic:

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U.S. Drone Strike Math – 41 Terrorists Targeted, 1,147 People Killed

Screen Shot 2014-11-25 at 10.38.14 AMWhile I haven’t covered the topic of drones very much as of late, it was a core topic at Liberty Blitzkrieg several years ago. The most recent, relevant piece I published on it was during the summer of 2013 and titled: The Truth About Drones.

Here’s an excerpt:

A lot of Americans have an impression that drone strikes are less damaging to civilian populations than conventional airstrikes. This would be false. In fact, earlier this month I highlighted an article from the Guardian that demonstrated how in reality drone strikes are 10x more likely to harm civilians per incident. Now, thanks to a recently leaked document we find that many more civilians including children have been killed in these strikes than many of us would like to admit. In fact, of the 746 people killed in drone strikes in Pakistan from 2006-2009, an incredible 20% were civilians and 94 (13% of the total) were children.

I strongly believe that the reason so many Americans blindly support the widespread use of drones is due to the mistaken belief that they are precise and result in few civilian casualties. It’s important to get some of the facts out to the public in order to have a more informed debate on the matter.

In the latest news, the Guardian reports that:

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Rapper and Actor Mos Def Undergoes Force Feeding Procedure Used at Guantanamo Bay

Back in May, I covered the hunger strikes at Guantanamo Bay, which at the time consisted of 100 of 166 detainees.  I noted how the American Medical Association (AMA) expressed concern that the force feeding of many of these detainees was contrary to medical ethics.  A lawyer for one of the detainees described the force feeding practice … Read more