Saudi prisoner, arrested at 17, to be crucified and beheaded

Arrested in 2012, then-17-year-old Ali Mohammed al-Nimr is now set to be crucified and beheaded since his most recent appeal has been dismissed, according to a story in the U.K.’s Mirror.

Critics say he is being punished because his uncle is a prominent human rights activist, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who was also given the death penaltyin 2014 and is expected to be executed this week, the Mirror reported, before adding that critics also claim that the teenager was tortured, denied access to a lawyer and forced to sign a bogus confession with no supporting evidence. Out of legal options, Ali could be executed anytime.

Maya Foa, director of the death penalty team at legal charity Reprieve, was quoted in the International Business Times: “Ali was a vulnerable child when he was arrested and this ordeal began.”

“No one should have to go through the ordeal Ali has suffered — torture, forced ‘confession,’ and an unfair, secret trial process, resulting in a sentence of death by crucifixion,” Maya Foa was quoted in the report.

The International Business Times reported that Saudi Arabia has carried out a high rate of executions since the new ruler, King Salman, came to power in January 2015, and the country is expected to soon surpass its 2014 total of 87 executions.