Ali Mohammed al-Nimr’s crucifixion is imminent.

Rights groups and UN experts are demanding Saudi Arabia immediately halt the execution of the pro-democracy protester, who was arrested when he was a child.

“It’s a rare sentence. This is not something they do every day,” Catherine Higham, a researcher at Reprieve, a U.K.-based human rights group, said about the sentence of death by crucifixion.

“The person is beheaded, normally by sword, and then their body is displayed in a public place on a jibbet. The reason the sentence is quite unusual is that it is used to make an example of people,” Higham told the Star.

Nimr was a 17-year-old high school student when he was arrested in 2012 for participating in pro-democracy protests in Saudi Arabia’s eastern province during the wider Arab Spring movement.

His confession was allegedly obtained through torture and ill-treatment during interrogation, and Nimr did not have a lawyer or a fair trial, a group of UN experts said this week.

Nimr was sentenced to death by crucifixion last year; the punishment was upheld this month. The young man can be executed as soon as Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud ratifies the order, Amnesty International said.

“We call upon the Saudi authorities to ensure a fair retrial of Ali Mohammed al-Nimr, and to immediately halt the scheduled execution,” the UN experts said.

Nimr’s uncle is also a prominent Shia cleric in Saudi Arabia. Nimr al-Nimr has advocated for an end to government corruption and discrimination against the country’s Shia minority. He was sentenced to death in 2014 for “inciting sectarian strife” and disobeying the Saudi ruler after a trial Amnesty International called “deeply flawed.”

Higham said the younger Nimr’s sentence is meant to send a message.

“He was arrested because of a perceived role in protests in 2012, which was part of the Arab Spring movement for a more democratic voice in the Middle East, for more self-determination, more political participation,” she said.

“I think the sentence against Ali is very much designed as a warning to others to dissuade them from taking these kinds of political stances.”

Meanwhile, Reporters Without Borders revealed on Monday that a Saudi official has been appointed to head a five-member panel that advises the UN Human Rights Council.

“The appointment is grotesque,” RWB’s Alexandra El Khazen said in a statement.

Canada, which recently signed a $15-billion arms deal with Saudi Arabia, has also not addressed Nimr’s case.

A spokesperson for Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada did not address Nimr’s case specifically when asked to comment by the Star.

“The promotion and protection of human rights is an integral part of Canada’s foreign policy. We maintain an ongoing dialogue with Saudi Arabia on a number of issues, including human rights,” John Babcock said in an e-mailed statement.

“The Government of Canada regularly makes its views on human rights known to Saudi authorities and the international community. Canadian officials continue to engage Saudi authorities and encourage them to respect their country’s obligations under international human rights legislation.”

Saudi Arabia executed more than 100 people in the first half of this year — that amounts to one person killed every two days, Amnesty said in an August report.

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The report found that foreign nationals are especially vulnerable to being sentenced to death, and that the country continues to execute individuals under the age of 18 and those with mental disabilities.

In a recent interview with Agence France-Presse, Nimr’s father, Mohammed, said his son participated in the protests but was innocent of other related charges, including throwing a Molotov cocktail, attacking police and burglary.

He called on King Salman to intervene. “We hope that the king will not sign” the execution order, Mohammed told AFP.

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