KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — A Saudi student who had been admitted to begin classes at Western Michigan University seven years ago was among the 37 Saudi Arabians who were beheaded yesterday.
Mujtaba Al-Sweikat was 17 when he was arrested at the airport, waiting to fly to Kalamazoo to begin his college career in 2012. His crime? Months before, he allegedly attended a pro-democracy rally during a period when the Arab Spring was toppling dictators in the Middle East.
An international human rights group claims during his confinement, he was beaten and tortured to confess to violence and terrorism. He was denied a lawyer at his trial.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, expressed her concern over his beheading.
“The violent killing of Mutjaba al-Sweikat is disturbing,” she said in a statement. “Mutjaba had a bright future ahead of him and Michigan was prepared to welcome him as a student. Instead, he faced inhumane torture and pain ultimately leading to his execution”.
Randi Weingarten, the President of the American Federation of Teachers, which represents factulty at WMU issued this statement:
“Saudi Arabia’s sickening beheading of a young student, after he was tortured and held in solitary confinement for years, is a despicable violation of international law and basic humanity. Condemned at 17, Mujtaba al-Sweikat was planning to attend Western Michigan University when he was arrested after attending a peaceful protest rally. Today, we discover this brave young man has been executed, along with more than 30 others, in a ghastly display of state brutality.
