A young man faces imminent execution in Saudi Arabia for attending protests and funerals when he was aged 15 to 17, say human rights groups, in the latest example of the kingdom’s surging use of the death penalty for non-violent crimes.
Youssef al-Manasif was arrested in 2017 and accused of crimes including joining demonstrations for religious freedom by the Shia minority and attending funerals that the Saudi authorities deem to be protests. He was convicted and sentenced to death by the specialized criminal court, a secretive tribunal set up for terrorism-related cases.
The charity Reprieve says Manasif was tortured and coerced into signing a false confession and only met his state-appointed lawyer for the first time in 2022—five years after his arrest.
Saudi Arabia has seen what activists describe as a “horrifying” surge in executions under the rule of the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman. Last year saw a record 356 people put to death in the country. Most of those executed are foreigners convicted of minor and non-violent drug crimes.
At least 17 people, who were children at the time of their alleged offences, have been executed in Saudi Arabia since 2015, according to Reprieve.
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