A Facebook post has been claiming for over a week that Arab activist Esra al-Ghamgam was publicly beheaded. However, it is fake news!

The following post is shared almost every minute:

Screenshot Facebook
Screenshot Facebook

The article translated from French:

“Saudi Arabia publicly beheaded Esra al-Ghamgam, militant and women's rights activist, on the morning of August 20. The absolute silence of the media, both the international and national communities, is deafening.”

For those in a hurry:

Esra al-Ghamgam is likely facing the death penalty, but she has not (yet) been executed. The origin of the rumor was an old video.

Who is Ezra al-Ghamgam?

Together with her husband, Esra has been campaigning for a relaxation of Sharia laws, more democracy and the release of political prisoners in Saudi Arabia since 2011. She was arrested during a house search in 2015 and has been in custody ever since. Her trial was scheduled for October 28, 2018 , and she could actually face the death penalty.

How did the execution rumor come about?

On August 19, 2018 , the site “ Young Journalists Club ” first reported the execution. The evidence is a video that is supposed to show the activist's beheading.

Screenshot from the video
Screenshot from the video

Several sites copied this message unchecked until the better-known site “ Fort Russ ” finally took over the report August 22, 2018

Screenshot Facebook
Screenshot Facebook

Since the site published the report, they have also published a few updates in which they themselves question whether the report is true. Unfortunately, the headline remains, and experience has shown that only a few users read these articles until the end.

Origin of the video

The alleged execution video is actually real, but it is from 2015 . The site “ France24 ”, for example, reported on the video showing the beheading of Laila Bint Abdul Muttalib Basim. She immigrated from Burma to Saudi Arabia and was executed because she is said to have sexually abused and killed her 7-year-old stepdaughter. She maintained her innocence until the end.

A downer

Although Esra al-Ghamgam has not yet been executed at this time, she unfortunately still faces this fate. The organization “ Human Rights Watch ” points out that there are only less than two months until the fate of the activist could be decided. If she gets the death penalty, she would be the first woman to be executed for her peaceful protests.

Human Rights Watch is now calling on the international community to demand the release of the activist and her colleagues. It should be a logical move for Saudi Arabia to comply with the demands, as the country under Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is currently trying to strengthen women's rights, for example by allowing women to drive.

Then pardoning Esra al-Ghamgam and the other imprisoned activists should be the next important and right step.


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )