Australia will do 'anything we can' to stop US execution being shown online: PM

SYDNEY: Australia is determined to prevent the execution of a US prisoner from being streamed online, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese declared on Tuesday. Nidal Hasan's execution, scheduled for December 3 at Fort Hood, Texas, is set to be the inaugural military firing squad execution in the US since 1945. Following US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's announcement that the execution would be broadcast live, Albanese expressed his "social responsibility" to oppose its display.

He questioned why anyone would choose to view such a gruesome event, especially when minors might inadvertently access it. Despite the Australian internet regulator's assertion that it lacks the authority to prevent the streaming, Albanese vowed that his government would communicate to social media platforms that such content has no place in the country.

Environment Minister Murray Watt termed the plans "absolutely disgusting." The decision to livestream Hasan's execution has elicited widespread disapproval globally, with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stating that it contravenes the absolute prohibition of torture. In Australia, the issue has united political parties across the spectrum, with even far-right lawmaker Barnaby Joyce referring to it as "Roman amphitheatre stuff" and Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young urging regulators to halt the execution from being shown in the nation.