The Pentagon is set to livestream the execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the former U.S. Army psychiatrist convicted for the 2009 Fort Hood shooting that killed 13 people. The execution is scheduled for 3 December at Fort Hood, Texas, using a military firing squad, a punishment not carried out by the U.S. military since 1945. Several outlets report this would be a first for the U.S. in terms of broadcasting a service-member execution live to the public.

Officials and critics across the political and international spectrum respond sharply. The United Nations calls the plan “abhorrent,” saying livestreaming could amount to public execution and may violate prohibitions on cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. The Guardian and others describe widespread global condemnation and comparisons by critics to public executions carried out in countries such as Iran and Afghanistan.

In the U.S., Democratic lawmakers call the plan “medieval” or a mockery of the legal system, while some Republican politicians also criticize the livestream aspect even if they support the death sentence. Questions also arise from media and regulators: one report says the FCC chairman declines to say whether broadcasters should air it, and another says it is doubtful networks would show it. Supporters of the death penalty generally focus on the punishment itself, while critics argue the broadcast would turn the execution into a spectacle and risk serving as propaganda.