No, Saudi Arabian Activist Israa Has Not Been Executed

Israa al-Ghomgham is facing the death penalty but posts showing she is already beheaded is circulating on the web.

The shared post also included a photo that claimed to be of the activist but is actually of another person.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

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On the night of 6 December 2015, activist Israa al-Ghomgham was arrested for participating in and documenting Shia anti-government protests in the Sunni-dominated country, Saudi Arabia.

Israa has been in jail since then and is facing the death penalty. She was put on a trial after the intervention of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and if convicted, she would become the first female activist ever beheaded in the ultraconservative kingdom, reported CNN.

As the verdict is yet to come out, especially after the crowning of the new prince, Mohammed bin Salman who had presented himself as a reformer of strict moral codes for women in Saudi Arabia, posts are being shared alleging that Israa has already been beheaded.

VERDICT: TRUE OF FALSE?

Well, the posts claiming that Israa has been beheaded are fake.

Firstly, the videos and screenshots that are being circulated on Twitter showing a woman, wearing burkha, being publicly beheaded is actually from 2015. And it shows a Burmese woman who was executed for allegedly killing her step-daughter.

A Chinese-English newspaper, South China Morning Post, ran a story on Israa with a photo claiming to be that of the activist.

A few users also shared the same picture (attached below) claiming it to be Israa al-Ghamgham.

But a fact check revealed that the photo is of Samar Badawi, another activist from Saudi Arabia.

BACKGROUND

Execution by beheading is not an uncommon method of killing convicts in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia has one of the highest execution rates, with 48 people having been beheaded this year.

(With inputs from CNN)

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