Turn Off The Fucking Lights

Arrested at 17 in 2012, Ali Nimr was attending a pro-democracy march led by Shia Muslims in Qatif when Saudi state police began an imminent clampdown on protestors. Beaten badly and immediately handcuffed, Ali was stuffed into a truck and driven away from Qatif, unaware at the time that he would not see his hometown again.

Ali Nimr would sit in Saudi prison for 3 years facing interrogations, beatings, psychological and physical torture before a sentence would be applied to his case. In 2015, the same year Saudi Arabia would be inducted as the chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council, Ali Nimr would be sentenced to death. Specifically, public beheading and crucifixion–an arcane, ancient punishment reserved only for the worst of offenders. Ali’s sentencing violates sacrosanct international law: under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, individuals cannot be executed for crimes committed as a minor. 

As a young, Shia Muslim and pro-democracy activist, Ali Nimr is the poster-child for Saudi Arabia’s brand of preventative execution; what better a way to quell any hint of dissent or pro-democracy from young Shias and activists in general than to crucify Ali? Who would follow in the footsteps of an activist whose path ultimately led to beheading? 

White dude shoots up a place: “Disturbed individual”