Pentagon vows to livestream first military execution in decades

The US Pentagon has announced that it will livestream the execution of Nidal Hasan, a former Army psychiatrist who killed 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas in 2009. The execution, by firing squad, is scheduled to take place on December 3, 2026, at the military base. This will be the first US military execution in over 65 years.

The decision to livestream the execution has been met with criticism from US lawmakers and human rights organizations. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that livestreaming an execution is tantamount to a public execution and would breach the absolute prohibition of torture. Some lawmakers have compared the move to the actions of terror groups, such as ISIS.

According to GBC Ghana, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the choice of a firing squad and the decision to broadcast the event, stating that "people need to understand that there's serious consequences for these types of things." Haaretz noted that Hasan's execution will be the first by firing squad by the US military since 1945.

Brief written by urgent.news from France 24, The Guardian US, El Pais English, GBC Ghana, Haaretz — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.