Dubai: A relative of the Palestinian artist sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia for apostasy says his defence lawyers plan to appeal.
Saudi Arabia’s Al Watan news website quoted Ashraf Fayadh’s brother-in-law, Osama Abu Raya, as saying the verdict announced on Tuesday is an initial sentence. Defence lawyers have until mid-December to file the appeal.
Fayadh was arrested in January 2014. Al Watan reported that he was charged with blasphemy, spreading atheism and having long hair, along with other charges.
New York-based Human Rights Watch said on Monday that Fayadh has denied the charges, which stem from a published book of his poetry and from a complaint lodged by a man who accused Fayadh of making blasphemous statements during a heated discussion at a cafe.