Palestinian poet to appeal Saudi death sentence
Defense attorneys have until mid-December to appeal penalty for apostasy handed down to Ashraf Fayadh
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — A relative of the Palestinian artist sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for apostasy says his defense lawyers plan to appeal.
Saudi Arabia’s Al-Watan news website quoted Ashraf Fayadh’s brother-in-law, Osama Abu Raya, as saying the verdict announced last Tuesday is an initial sentence. Defense lawyers have until mid-December to file the appeal.
Fayadh was arrested in January 2014. Al-Watan reported that he was charged with blasphemy, spreading atheism and having long hair, along with other charges.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said Monday that Fayadh has denied the charges, which stem from a published book of his poetry and from a complaint lodged by a man who accused Fayadh of making blasphemous statements during a heated discussion at a cafe.
Last week’s decision, apparently after an appeal, overturned another lower court’s ruling in 2014 sentencing Fayadh to four years’ prison and 800 lashes.
As the verdict is a lower court ruling, it can still be reviewed by an appeals court and the supreme court. All executions also have to be ultimately approved by King Salman.
Under Saudi Arabia’s strict Islamic legal code, murder, drug trafficking, armed robbery, rape and apostasy are all punishable by death.
London-based Amnesty International said earlier this month that 151 people have been executed in Saudi Arabia this year, the highest figure since 192 people were put to death in 1995.