Death Sentence Commuted for Saudi Man Jailed as a Teen 

By Nida A. Imam

The Specialized Criminal Court of Saudia Arabic has reduced a Saudi man’s sentence from life to 10-years in prison. The man, identified as Ali al-Nimr by his father Mohammed al-Nimr, was arrested and sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for involvement in anti-government protests when he was a teen.

According to CNN, Ali al-Nimr was arrested in 2012, at the age of 17, for being a part of protests demanding social and political reforms in Qatif, a province in Saudi Arabia. His final appeal was rejected in 2015, and he was to face beheading.

Ali al-Nimr’s sentence was commuted per a royal decree in regards to people who committed crimes as minors. Last year in April, Saudi Arabia announced that it would abolish the death penalty for people who committed crimes as minors. Ali al-Nimr, the nephew of the executed firebrand cleric Nimr al-Nimr, has been a prominent case since the abolishment announcement. 

Per Human Rights Commission (HRC)’s statement, anyone convicted of crimes as a minor would not receive a sentence longer than 10-years in a juvenile detention facility.

According to Mohammed al-Nimr, his son is 26-years-old now and therefore should be released in eight or nine months since he has already spent more than nine years in prison. 

“His health is good, but he has been in prison for more than nine years. He spent more than seven years with the threat of execution hanging over his head every day, every hour and every minute. After the verdict, he was able to breathe. Starting today, he is looking forward to freedom,”  Mohammed al-Nimr told CNN.

As Ali al-Nimr’s family waits for his release, there’s hope to see many others, similar individuals, released in the future.

“My family and I are happy. I hope all those arrested in my country and elsewhere (will) be released,” Mohammed al-Nimr said.