The United Nations Human Rights Office slammed Alabama‘s impending execution of an inmate by way of nitrogen gas next week and called on the state to halt the scheduled execution.

Kenneth Eugene Smith was convicted for a 1988 murder-for-hire killing of Elizabeth Sennett and is set to be executed by the state on Jan. 25. Ravina Shamdasani, spokeswoman for the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, warned going forward with the method “could amount to torture” in a lengthy statement released on Tuesday.

“We are alarmed by the imminent execution in the United States of America of Kenneth Eugene Smith, through the use of a novel and untested method — suffocation by nitrogen gas, which could amount to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment under international human rights law,” the spokeswoman said.

Shamdasani called on the state to halt plans to execute Smith and “refrain from taking steps towards any other executions in this manner.” The spokeswoman also warned that going forward with the execution by nitrogen gas could violate human rights treaties the United States has agreed to.

“We have serious concerns that Smith’s execution in these circumstances could breach the prohibition on torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment, as well as his right to effective remedies. These are rights set out in two International Human Rights treaties where the United States is bound by — the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,” Shamdasani said.

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Nitrogen hypoxia is a method that involves forcing a person to breathe pure nitrogen until they pass out and eventually die from a lack of oxygen. Only three states, Alabama, Oklahoma, and Mississippi, have legalized the method, but none have attempted to use it.

A federal judge cleared the way for Smith to be executed by nitrogen gas after rejecting an attempted injunction last week. The state had attempted to execute Smith by lethal injection in 2022 but called off the execution after they failed to establish an IV by the deadline on his death warrant.