UN warns US livestream execution plan breaches torture ban

The UN human rights office on Friday warned that plans to broadcast the execution of a former US Army major by firing squad would breach the absolute prohibition against torture. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights spokesperson Shabia Mantoo told reporters in Geneva that the proposed livestream crosses fundamental legal boundaries. "The live streaming of an execution is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture," Mantoo said.

Background of the case

The warning came after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed that the public would be able to watch the execution of Maj. Nidal Hasan, who was sentenced to death for the 2009 mass shooting at Fort Hood military base in Texas that killed 13 unarmed soldiers. The planned broadcast would mark the first public execution in the United States in nearly a century.

International legal standards

Mantoo stressed that such practices constitute "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" under international human rights law. She recalled that High Commissioner Volker Turk had previously raised concerns regarding public executions in Afghanistan and Iran. "Failure to respect this prohibition would inevitably render the execution arbitrary in nature and result in a violation of the right to life," she added.