Saudi Arabia sentences poet to DEATH for renouncing Islam
A PALESTINIAN poet has been sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for renouncing Islam.
A Saudi court ordered the execution of Ashraf Fayadh, 35, after finding him guilty of apostasy - or abandoning his Muslim faith.
The poet was originally sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes in 2014 after he was detained in 2013 after a complaint he was cursing against Allah and the prophet Muhammed in a book of poems.
But the ruling was reversed after his appeal was dismissed by another judge who subsequently passed a death sentence for Fayadh, according to trial documents seen by Adam Coogle from Human Rights Watch.
Fayadh was charged with blasphemy, spreading atheism and having an illicit relationship with women, based on pictures found on his phone, according to Human Rights Watch, who are closely monitoring his case.
Fayadh told the Guardian: “I was really shocked but it was expected, though I didn’t do anything that deserves death.”
Religious crimes including blasphemy and apostasy can incur the death penalty in Saudi Arabia, where the justice system is based on Islamic Sharia law.
Saudi Arabia, which has one of the highest execution rates in the world, has executed more than 150 people so far this year, according to Human Rights Watch.
Fayadh’s death sentence comes after a liberal writer called Raif Badawi after sentenced to 10 years in prison and 1,000 lashes for blasphemy last year, prompting an international outcry.
I was really shocked but it was expected, though I didn’t do anything that deserves death
The poet, who does not have legal representation, has been given 30 days to appeal the ruling.
Religious police in Saudi Arabia first detained Fayadh in August 2013 after receiving a complaint that he was cursing against Allah and the prophet Muhammad, insulting Saudi Arabia and distributing a book of his poems that promoted atheism.
In a statement condemning the harsh ruling Human Rights Watch said that “religious police went to the café after a man reported that Fayadh had made obscene comments about God, the Prophet Muhammad, and the Saudi state.
The statement added: "The man also alleged that Fayadh passed around a book he wrote that allegedly promoted atheism and unbelief.”
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Fayadh denied the accusations of blasphemy and told the court he was a faithful Muslim. According to the court documents obtained by the Guardian, he said: “I am repentant to God most high and am innocent of what appeared in my book mentioned in this case.”
The documents also state that he admitted having relationships with the women.
Mr Coogle, a Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch, told the Guardian Fayadh’s death sentence showed Saudi Arabia’s “complete intolerance of anyone who may not share government-mandated religious, political and social views”.
He added: “If Saudi Arabia wishes to improve its human rights record it must release Fayadh and overhaul its justice system to prevent all prosecutions solely for peaceful speech – especially those that result in beheading.”