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Mujtaba
al-Sweikat,
an
admitted
Western
Michigan
University
student
detained
at Saudi
Arabia’s
King
Fahd
International
Airport
in 2012,
was
beheaded
by his
own
government. |
|
Saudi
Arabia
beheads
37 for
protesting;
Western
Mich
Univ.
student
among
the
executed
By
Wendell
Bryant
Tell Us
USA News
Network
WASHINGTON
-
Earlier
today,
the
American
Federation
of
Teachers
learned
that
Mujtaba
al-Sweikat,
an
admitted
Western
Michigan
University
student
detained
at Saudi
Arabia’s
King
Fahd
International
Airport
in 2012,
was
beheaded
by his
own
government.
His
murder
took
place
alongside
36
others
in a
mass
execution
of
individuals
charged
with
alleged
“terrorism”
offences.
Mujtaba
was
tortured
and made
to
“confess”
to his
crimes
before
being
convicted.
It
marked
the
largest
number
of
executions
in a
single
day in
Saudi
Arabia
since
Jan. 2,
2016,
when the
kingdom
executed
47
people
for
terrorism-related
crimes
in what
was the
largest
mass
execution
carried
out by
Saudi
authorities
since
1980.
The
AFT,
which
represents
faculty
at WMU,
had
campaigned
alongside
Reprieve
and
others
for
Mujtaba’s
release
and is
shocked
and
saddened
by the
news.
AFT
President
Randi
Weingarten
issued
the
following
statement:
“Saudi
Arabia’s
sickening
beheading
of a
young
student,
after he
was
tortured
and held
in
solitary
confinement
for
years,
is a
despicable
violation
of
international
law and
basic
humanity.
Condemned
at 17,
Mujtaba
al-Sweikat
was
planning
to
attend
Western
Michigan
University
when he
was
arrested
after
attending
a
peaceful
protest
rally.
Today,
we
discover
this
brave
young
man has
been
executed,
along
with
more
than 30
others,
in a
ghastly
display
of state
brutality.
“If
it was
not
already
clear,
Saudi
Arabia,
under
the
leadership
of Crown
Prince
Mohammed
bin
Salman,
has
moved to
the top
tier of
the
bloodiest
regimes
in world
history.
We
demand
the U.S.
government
immediately
condemn,
in every
way and
with
every
means,
this
disgusting
and
outrageous
crime.”
The
kingdom
and its
Sunni-led
Arab
allies
have
also
been
emboldened
by U.S.
President
Donald
Trump’s
unwavering
dedication
to
pressuring
Iran’s
Shiite
clerical
leadership,
which
includes
his
decision
to pull
out of a
nuclear
agreement
with
Iran and
re-impose
punishing
sanctions
to
cripple
its
economy.
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