A planned livestream execution of Fort Hood gunman Nidal Malik Hasan would amount to a public execution and breach the absolute prohibition on torture, the UN human rights office (OHCHR) said on Friday, UN News reported. The warning followed a vow by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth to execute Hasan publicly.
Why the UN opposes a livestream execution
OHCHR spokesperson Shabia Mantoo noted that High Commissioner Volker Türk has said public executions constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. Failure to respect that ban would make the execution arbitrary and violate the right to life, she said in Geneva.
Key Facts
- Convict: Nidal Malik Hasan, Fort Hood shooting of 2009
- Victims: 13 killed, 32 injured
- Method planned: firing squad
- OHCHR: livestream = public execution
The Fort Hood case
Hasan was sentenced to death by a military jury after killing 13 people and injuring 32 in a 2009 shooting at the Fort Hood base in Texas, UN News said. India Today and Australia’s ABC News reported that the Pentagon plans a firing squad.
'Abhorrent', says UN spokesperson
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters in New York that a government executing someone in public or before live cameras is ‘abhorrent’. Earlier this month OHCHR urged Tennessee not to try again to execute Christa Pike, who survived a botched execution attempt.
Sources: UN News · India Today · ABC News (Australia)
Today’s News 12 Oct 2026 · 21 stories
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