Saudi Arabia cancels Mortaza's death sentence!

The Dhaka Times Desk The Saudi government has canceled the death sentence given to Murtaza Kureiris, who was detained in Saudi Arabia at the age of 13. He may be released in 2022.

An official of the country said in an interview given to the British news agency Reuters on Saturday. However, no official statement has yet been made by the government.

When the spring wave against the corrupt and anti-people rulers of Saudi Arabia was played out, this child Murtaza Qureiris spoke out against the Saudi monarchy. Murtaza, along with his friends, started a non-violent protest on a bicycle while unarmed. American news media CNN was able to find out recently through their special investigation that his false confession was obtained through prolonged persecution and torture.

Finally, the child was sentenced to death as punishment for peaceful opposition to the government. UK-based human rights organization Amnesty International verified the authenticity of the report published on CNN. Author-journalist Ian Fraser tweeted: "Saudi youth to be executed for protesting democracy at age 10, likely to be publicly hanged."

However, the latest Saudi official said that Mortaza is not being sentenced to death. The official, who did not wish to be named, added, "He will not be executed."

After the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, an exiled Saudi journalist in the United States, Saudi Arabia came under criticism from around the world. In addition, the Saudi government has a record of cracking down on human rights activists in the country. On Wednesday, the Austrian government said it planned to essentially shut down Saudi-funded religious centers in Vienna to protest Murtaza's death sentence.

According to CNN's report, this death sentence is actually part of the government's anti-Shia repression campaign. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman intensified the anti-Shia campaign in 2015, and since then the ousting of political opponents has continued.

United Nations human rights monitors said the Saudi government is determined to maintain political movements in the name of anti-terrorist operations. Sar Nomics, a university professor, economist and human rights activist, said in a tweet that he was detained at the age of 13 for protesting Saudi oppression of minorities. Now the Saudi government wants to execute his death sentence. Who will speak against this brutality?

However, Saudi Arabia has always denied this anti-Shia campaign. The officer also said that Murtaza threw cocktails at the police and the pharmacy and fired shots. Moreover, Mortuza also tried to attack the German ambassador in 2014.

But in 2011, Mortaza was just 10 years old when he rode his bicycle to protest. When he was arrested 3 years later in 2014, he was 13. His execution has sparked criticism on social media. Along with the Saudi monarchy, its allies, the United States and Israel, have also been targeted by Twitter users. Many people including teachers, journalists, human rights activists and intellectuals have strongly criticized this effort. Many people also raised the question whether the decision of Murtaza's death sentence is in accordance with Islamic law.