According to Shia Rights Watch (SRW), in an tragic incident, a six year-old boy was beheaded in front of her mother after he was confirmed to be Shia.
The mother and her son took cab to visit the shrine of Prophet Muhammad in Medina. An unknown man approached them and asked the mother if she is Shia when they arrived at the shrine, the woman said yes.
Activists report that minutes after this conversation a car stopped by the woman and pulled the child away from her and attacked him with broken piece of glass. Witnesses report the child was beheaded form behind of his head as mother watched and screamed.
There was no intervention from anyone and no response from authority thus far.
The Saudi Shia community came together today in mourning and to show solidarity with the parents. The community also reported this incident is a result of ongoing violations and lack of protection by the Saudi authority toward its Shia population.
Saudi Shia have been under military crackdown by their government and many Shia activities are in prisons and on death toll.
Shia Rights Watch, other human rights NGOs and activists have long advocated for the rights of this minority through campians, UN and other entities. However the population still suffers because of the lack of international commitment to end such violations.
Beheading of a young child in such manner must be addressed ASAP, says SRW.
MNA/SWR
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