Key facts
- Nidal Malik Hasan is scheduled to be executed by firing squad on December 3.
- Hasan was convicted in 2013 of killing 13 people and attempting to kill 32 others at Fort Hood in 2009.
- The US government plans to livestream the execution.
- The UN called the plan "abhorrent" and a potential violation of prohibitions against torture.
- Critics have compared the plan to public executions in Iran and Afghanistan.
The US government's plan to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, convicted of the 2009 Fort Hood mass shooting, has ignited global condemnation and raised questions about content regulation in Southeast Asia. Hasan is set to be executed by firing squad on December 3, a method not used by the US military since 1945.
The Pentagon confirmed the plan, which has drawn sharp criticism from international bodies, politicians, and human rights advocates. The United Nations' office of the high commissioner for human rights described the plan as "abhorrent" and a potential violation of the absolute prohibition of torture, likening it to public executions seen in countries like Iran and Afghanistan.
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called the idea "barbaric" and "beneath our dignity." US Congresswoman Yassamin Ansari criticized the move, stating, "In Trump’s America, we’re doing public executions now." The UK's equalities minister, Bridget Phillipson, also expressed that she found the concept "rather disturbing."
Hasan, a former army psychiatrist, was sentenced to death by a military jury in 2013 for killing 13 people and attempting to kill 32 others at a military base in Texas. He was partially paralyzed during his arrest and now uses a wheelchair. The execution is reportedly approved by President Trump on the recommendation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who has stated that people should be able to watch to understand the "serious consequences" of such crimes.