Trump speaks out over decision to livestream execution of Nidal Hasan
Amid warnings from the United Nations (UN) over the legality of livestreaming an upcoming execution, President Donald Trump has now spoken out on the matter.
Earlier this month, it was revealed that the US government intends to broadcast the execution of Nidal Hasan, who was sentenced to death over the the killing of 13 people in 2009.
Last Monday (October 5), the US Department of Defense issued a statement which confirmed that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had recommended that Hasan be executed by a US Army firing squad, which President Trump has approved.
The execution is set to take place on December 3 at Fort Hood, which is where Hasan opened fire on unarmed soldiers in November 2009, with Hegseth stating: “He’s gonna get a firing squad of soldiers. As it should be. We’ll make sure that people are able to watch it, that it’s public, because people need to understand that there’s serious consequences for these types of things.”
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This will mark the first public execution in the US in 90 years and the first one to be livestreamed online.
There has since been pushback from the UN, with Shabia Mantoo from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) sharing a statement on the matter during a press briefing where she said: “Failure to respect this prohibition would inevitably render the execution arbitrary in nature, and result in a violation of the right to life and the absolute prohibition of torture.”
Trump speaks out on Nidal Hasan's execution
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric also stated during a press briefing in New York that the ‘possibility of…a government executing someone in public or in front of live cameras, frankly, is abhorrent’.
Now, Trump has spoken out to reveal that he has not yet come to a decision over whether the execution will be broadcast.
Speaking to the press from the White House, he said: “He was vicious, he was violent... There are two thoughts: don’t show it and show it, because, you know, by showing it, maybe other people won’t be doing what he did.”
The president went on to add: “I’ll make a decision, ultimately. I know what the military would like to do, but we’ll make a decision.”
Nidal Hasan’s crime
Hasan is a former US Army major who opened fire at the Soldier Readiness Center of Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, killing 13 people and injuring a further 30.
He was sentenced to death and incarcerated at the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas to await execution.