One of seven Saudis due to be put to death on Tuesday by crucifixion and firing squad for armed robbery, managed to speak over a smuggled mobile phone, appealing for help from concerned authorities.
Nasser al-Qahtani told Associated Press from Abha general prison on Monday that he was arrested as part of 23-member ring that stole from jewellery stores in 2004 and 2005. He said they had been tortured to confess and had no access to lawyers.
"I killed no one. I didn't have weapons while robbing the store, but the police tortured me, beat me up and threatened to assault my mother to extract confessions that I had a weapon with me while I was only 15," he said. "We don't deserve death."
A leading human rights group added its appeal to Saudi authorities to stop the executions.
Qahtani, 24, said he and most of the ring were juveniles at the time of the thefts. They were arrested in 2006. The seven received death sentences in 2009, the Saudi newspaper Okaz reported.
Last Saturday, Qahtani said, Saudi King Abdullah ratified the death sentences and sent them to Abha. Authorities set Tuesday for the executions. They also determined the methods.
The main defendant, Sarhan al-Mashayeh, will be crucified for three days. The others will face firing squads.
Qahtani faced a judge three times during eight years in detention. He said the judge did not assign a lawyer to defend them and did not listen to complaints of torture.
"We showed him the marks of torture and beating, but he didn't listen," he said. "I am talking to you now and my relatives are telling me that the soil is prepared for our executions tomorrow," he said.
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law under which people convicted of murder, rape or armed robbery can be executed, usually by sword.
Several people were reported to have been crucified in Saudi Arabia last year. Human rights groups have condemned crucifixions in the past, including cases in which people are beheaded and then crucified. In 2009, Amnesty International condemned such an execution as "the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment".
Human Rights Watch in a statement on Monday appealed to Abdullah to halt the executions. It said there was "strong evidence" that the trials of all seven men violated basic principles of rights to a fair trial.
"It will be outrageous if the Saudi authorities go ahead with these executions," said Eric Goldstein, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. "It is high time for the Saudis to stop executing child offenders and start observing their obligations under international human rights law."
Culled from guardian.co.uk
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