EXECUTION LIVESTREAM PLAN SPARKS UN AND CONGRESSIONAL CRITICISM

WASHINGTON, OCTOBER 9 /SRNA/ - A US Defense Department decision to livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan by firing squad has drawn condemnation from the United Nations and lawmakers from both major parties.

Hasan's execution, scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, where he killed 13 people in 2009, would be the first carried out by a US military firing squad since 1945.

"People need to understand that there are serious consequences for acts like these. I like the mentality we had during World War Two, when people understood that you have to defend yourself when the enemy attacks you," US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis said Hasan deserved the death penalty but that broadcasting the execution live was "beyond disgusting."

Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said the Pentagon's plan was "disturbing and made a mockery of the US legal system."

The UN human rights office also condemned the move.

The Pentagon said earlier that US President Donald Trump had approved Hasan's execution after he carried out the attack on the Texas military base, inspired by Al Qaeda.

Hasan killed 13 people, 12 of them soldiers, and wounded 30 others. He was shot and wounded by a police officer responding to the attack.

Hasan chose to represent himself at trial, called no witnesses and made no statement, while also making no attempt to deny the charges. He was sentenced to death in 2013.