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| Saudi Artist’s Death Sentence Follows a String of Harsh Punishments | Saudi Artist’s Death Sentence Follows a String of Harsh Punishments |
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| SANLIURFA, Turkey — For years, Ashraf Fayadh, an artist and poet, has served as an unofficial ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s small contemporary art scene, organizing shows and working to introduce Saudi art to the world. | SANLIURFA, Turkey — For years, Ashraf Fayadh, an artist and poet, has served as an unofficial ambassador for Saudi Arabia’s small contemporary art scene, organizing shows and working to introduce Saudi art to the world. |
| Although Mr. Fayadh is of Palestinian origin and officially stateless, Saudi Arabia is the only home he has ever known, his friends say, and he sees art as a line of communication between Saudi society and the rest of the world. | Although Mr. Fayadh is of Palestinian origin and officially stateless, Saudi Arabia is the only home he has ever known, his friends say, and he sees art as a line of communication between Saudi society and the rest of the world. |
| But on Nov. 17 a Saudi court sentenced Mr. Fayadh to death on charges of apostasy based on poems he published years before and on the testimony of a few witnesses, according to Adam Coogle, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who has read the court documents. | But on Nov. 17 a Saudi court sentenced Mr. Fayadh to death on charges of apostasy based on poems he published years before and on the testimony of a few witnesses, according to Adam Coogle, a researcher for Human Rights Watch who has read the court documents. |
| The sentence, which can be appealed, follows a string of harsh punishments handed down by Saudi courts amid the highest recorded number of executions in the kingdom since 1995, according to human rights groups. | The sentence, which can be appealed, follows a string of harsh punishments handed down by Saudi courts amid the highest recorded number of executions in the kingdom since 1995, according to human rights groups. |
| Notable cases have included the public flogging of a liberal blogger; a death sentence for a protester for offenses committed as a minor; and a sentence of 350 blows for a British man who was arrested with alcohol in his car. (The Briton was released this month after spending more than a year in prison, averting the threatened flogging.) | |
| Such punishments have fueled comparisons between Saudi Arabia, a longtime ally of the United States, and the jihadists of the Islamic State, both of whom claim to rule according to Islamic Shariah law and penalize acts that are not considered crimes in much of the world. | Such punishments have fueled comparisons between Saudi Arabia, a longtime ally of the United States, and the jihadists of the Islamic State, both of whom claim to rule according to Islamic Shariah law and penalize acts that are not considered crimes in much of the world. |
| Saudi officials stand by their allegiance to Shariah but reject any comparison with the Islamic State, saying that Saudi courts apply equal justice and noting that jihadists have repeatedly attacked their country. | Saudi officials stand by their allegiance to Shariah but reject any comparison with the Islamic State, saying that Saudi courts apply equal justice and noting that jihadists have repeatedly attacked their country. |
| The Saudi government has not commented publicly on Mr. Fayadh’s case, and its Justice Ministry does not have a known news officer. | The Saudi government has not commented publicly on Mr. Fayadh’s case, and its Justice Ministry does not have a known news officer. |
| Mr. Fayadh, 35, was born in Saudi Arabia to a stateless family of Palestinian origin, meaning that Mr. Fayadh is a citizen of no country and has only identification documents issued by the government of Egypt, according to his friend and fellow artist Ahmed Mater. | Mr. Fayadh, 35, was born in Saudi Arabia to a stateless family of Palestinian origin, meaning that Mr. Fayadh is a citizen of no country and has only identification documents issued by the government of Egypt, according to his friend and fellow artist Ahmed Mater. |
| While he is not widely known in Saudi Arabia or abroad, Mr. Fayadh has been an active member of Saudi Arabia’s small contemporary art scene, and his colleagues describe him as a passionate curator who has sought to link Saudi artists to the rest of the world. | While he is not widely known in Saudi Arabia or abroad, Mr. Fayadh has been an active member of Saudi Arabia’s small contemporary art scene, and his colleagues describe him as a passionate curator who has sought to link Saudi artists to the rest of the world. |
| “He is like a poetic translator,” said Stephen Stapleton, a British artist and the founding director of Edge of Arabia, a collective that includes many Saudi artists. “He was the one who was able to articulate the humanity and the special nature of what was happening in Saudi Arabia to people like me.” | “He is like a poetic translator,” said Stephen Stapleton, a British artist and the founding director of Edge of Arabia, a collective that includes many Saudi artists. “He was the one who was able to articulate the humanity and the special nature of what was happening in Saudi Arabia to people like me.” |
| In 2013, Mr. Fayadh organized an exhibition called Mostly Visible in the Saudi city of Jidda, and Chris Dercon, the director of the Tate Modern in London, visited and praised the show. | In 2013, Mr. Fayadh organized an exhibition called Mostly Visible in the Saudi city of Jidda, and Chris Dercon, the director of the Tate Modern in London, visited and praised the show. |
| A talk show on a Saudi television station also hosted Mr. Fayadh to discuss the project. | A talk show on a Saudi television station also hosted Mr. Fayadh to discuss the project. |
| That year, Mr. Fayadh was also one of the curators of an exposition of Saudi art at the Venice Biennale. | That year, Mr. Fayadh was also one of the curators of an exposition of Saudi art at the Venice Biennale. |
| It remains unclear what role Mr. Fayadh’s artistic endeavors played in his legal troubles. | It remains unclear what role Mr. Fayadh’s artistic endeavors played in his legal troubles. |
| He was arrested in August 2013 in his home city of Abha in southwestern Saudi Arabia, after a man he had argued with while watching a soccer game in a cafe reported him to the religious police, his father, Abdul-Satar Fayadh, said in an interview with France 24 Arabic. | He was arrested in August 2013 in his home city of Abha in southwestern Saudi Arabia, after a man he had argued with while watching a soccer game in a cafe reported him to the religious police, his father, Abdul-Satar Fayadh, said in an interview with France 24 Arabic. |
| The elder Mr. Fayadh said that the charges against his son were based on a personal vendetta and “have no basis in truth.” | The elder Mr. Fayadh said that the charges against his son were based on a personal vendetta and “have no basis in truth.” |
| Mr. Fayadh was released without charge, but rearrested in January 2014 and accused of blasphemy and of having illicit relationships with women, according to Mr. Coogle of Human Rights Watch. | Mr. Fayadh was released without charge, but rearrested in January 2014 and accused of blasphemy and of having illicit relationships with women, according to Mr. Coogle of Human Rights Watch. |
| The first charge was based on the testimony of the man who reported him and of two officers from the religious police who arrested him, and on the contents of a poetry book called “Instructions Within” that Mr. Fayadh had published in 2008, Mr. Coogle said, citing court documents. The second charge was based on photographs found on Mr. Fayadh’s cellphone of him with women. | The first charge was based on the testimony of the man who reported him and of two officers from the religious police who arrested him, and on the contents of a poetry book called “Instructions Within” that Mr. Fayadh had published in 2008, Mr. Coogle said, citing court documents. The second charge was based on photographs found on Mr. Fayadh’s cellphone of him with women. |
| A court in Abha found him guilty on both charges and sentenced him to four years in prison and 800 blows, Mr. Coogle said. | A court in Abha found him guilty on both charges and sentenced him to four years in prison and 800 blows, Mr. Coogle said. |
| But that sentence was thrown out on appeal, and Mr. Fayadh was retried in a process that ended last week. He was found guilty on five charges that included spreading atheism, threatening the morals of Saudi society and having illicit relations with women, according to court documents. He was sentenced to death for apostasy. | But that sentence was thrown out on appeal, and Mr. Fayadh was retried in a process that ended last week. He was found guilty on five charges that included spreading atheism, threatening the morals of Saudi society and having illicit relations with women, according to court documents. He was sentenced to death for apostasy. |
| “This is just another example of the egregious cases that we have seen so many of this year,” said Mr. Coogle, who closely tracks the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. | “This is just another example of the egregious cases that we have seen so many of this year,” said Mr. Coogle, who closely tracks the use of the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. |
| Mona Kareem, a stateless activist from Kuwait who has led the campaign for Mr. Fayadh’s release, accused the morality police of singling him out to send a message to their city’s nascent art scene. | Mona Kareem, a stateless activist from Kuwait who has led the campaign for Mr. Fayadh’s release, accused the morality police of singling him out to send a message to their city’s nascent art scene. |
| “In that region there are a lot of artists and writers, and Ashraf has been very prominent in the last few years,” Ms. Kareem said. “They targeted him because he is the most vulnerable in the group.” | “In that region there are a lot of artists and writers, and Ashraf has been very prominent in the last few years,” Ms. Kareem said. “They targeted him because he is the most vulnerable in the group.” |
| Mr. Fayadh’s friends say they hope that the Saudi government will intervene or that the sentence will be reduced or overturned on appeal. | Mr. Fayadh’s friends say they hope that the Saudi government will intervene or that the sentence will be reduced or overturned on appeal. |