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United Nations condemns plan to livestream Nidal Hasan's execution
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said livestreaming an execution would amount to a public execution and breach the absolute prohibition of torture.
The United Nations has condemned a U.S. plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, the convicted military base shooter, calling the proposal abhorrent. Its condemnation concerns making the execution publicly viewable.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a video posted by official Pentagon accounts that Hasan's execution by firing squad would be livestreamed. The statement announced a planned broadcast of the execution.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said livestreaming an execution would amount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture. That is the office's assessment of the proposed broadcast.
Hasan killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009 while working as a U.S. Army psychiatrist.
His execution is scheduled for December 3. If carried out, it would be the first execution by firing squad conducted by the U.S. military since World War II.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis also criticized public executions on social media, saying they are something oppressive dictatorships do.
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Defense Department official says Nidal Hasan's execution will be livestreamed
A Defense Department official said the execution of Nidal Hasan would be livestreamed. Hasan shot dead 13 unarmed U.S. soldiers at Fort Hood in 2009; the official's statement concerns public viewing of his execution.
The execution is scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood in Texas. If carried out as scheduled, it would be the first military execution by firing squad since the end of World War II.
Military law requires approval from the U.S. president for a military execution. It also requires appellate review, in which a higher court examines the decision, and a final judgment on its legality before the execution can proceed.
John Mills, a lawyer who works with people sentenced to death, described the decision to livestream the execution as unprecedented in the modern era and said it rests on uncertain legal ground.
Mills said Hasan's appellate process is unfinished and that he is likely to seek federal court review of his conviction and sentence. Mills said that review would likely put the execution on hold.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy condemned the proposed livestream, calling it disgusting and comparing it with executions carried out by the Islamic State group.
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