Ashraf, a 35-year-old poet and artist, is sentenced to be executed by Saudi Arabian authorities for his art.
On 17 November, the General Court in Abha, southwest Saudi Arabia, found Ashraf guilty of ‘apostasy’ – renouncing Islam – for his poetry and sentenced him to death.
Arrested for poetry and pictures on his phone
Ashraf was initially arrested on 6 August 2013 following a complaint registered against him by another Saudi citizen, who said that the poet was promoting atheism and spreading blasphemous ideas among young people. Ashraf was released the following day, but then rearrested on 1 January 2014, when he was charged with apostasy – he had supposedly questioned religion and spread atheist thought with his poetry. He was at the same time charged with violating the country’s Anti-Cyber Crime Law for allegedly taking and storing photos of women on his phone.
On 30 April 2014, Ashraf was sentenced to four years in prison and 800 lashes for the charges relating to images of women on his phone. The General Court accepted Ashraf’s apology for the charges of apostasy and found the punishment to be satisfactory.
However, the court of appeal recommended that Ashraf should still be sentenced for apostasy, and his case was sent back to the General Court, which in turn sentenced him to death for apostasy.
Throughout this whole process, Ashraf was denied access to a lawyer – a clear violation of international human rights law, as well as Saudi Arabia’s national laws.
What we’re calling for
Quite simply, we’re calling for Ashraf to be freed. He has committed no crime, and as such should not be imprisoned, let alone face execution.
We’re asking the Saudi Arabian authorities to drop Ashraf’s conviction and all charges against him. We’re also asking for them to stop executing anyone for ‘apostasy’.
Tuesday 9th February at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton, TA1 3DH. 8pm start.
With apologies for the lateness of this post, our next monthly meeting is this evening, Tuesday 12th January at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton, TA1 3DH. 8pm start.
Tuesday 8th December at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton,
Atena Farghadani is a 29 year old Iranian artist; she was jailed this summer for over 12 years for her art and her peaceful activism. Since then she’s faced further charges: she shook her lawyer’s hand when he visited her in prison and is now facing charges of ‘illicit sexual relations falling short of adultery’.
Our next monthly meeting is on Tuesday 10th November at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton, TA1 3DH. 8pm start.
In Japan, Matsumoto Kenji could be hanged any day now, and he does not know why. He has been on death row for over 20 years. He was sentenced to death in the early nineties for robberies and murders committed with his brother (who killed himself in detention). Matsumoto has had a mental disability and low IQ from birth, allegedly caused by mercury poisoning. Despite this, he was ruled mentally competent and his sentence confirmed in 2000. 
In spring 2016, the Taunton Amnesty Group plans to host a debate about the Human Rights Act involving local schools. We hope the event will happen in the last 3 weeks of the spring term, and so far King’s College, Queen’s College, Taunton Academy, Taunton School and Richard Huish College are interested in taking part.
Our next monthly meeting is on Tuesday 13th October at the Silver Street Baptist Church, Taunton, TA1 3DH. 8pm start.
Amnesty International Taunton Local Group 