Saudi supreme court reportedly upholds death sentence over teen-era offenses

At least 17 people executed in Saudi Arabia since 2015 for alleged offences as children

Youssef al-Manasif faces imminent execution in Saudi Arabia for attending protests and funerals when he was aged 15 to 17, human rights groups say, in the latest example of the kingdom’s surging use of the death penalty for non-violent crimes.

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 specialised criminal court, a tribunal set up for terrorism-related cases.

The charity Reprieve says al-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. His death sentence has now reportedly been upheld by the Saudi supreme court, which was likely to be his last hope of avoiding execution.

His family have not spoken in public about the case and could face harassment or arrest if they do so. “There is nothing they can do now but wait,” said Duaa Dhainy, a consultant for Reprieve and the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights.

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. The kingdom issued a royal decree abolishing the death penalty for children in 2020, stating that individuals would not be sentenced to death for crimes committed when they were minors. It has since upheld the death penalty in a number of cases involving child defendants. In April, Saudi Arabia executed Ali al-Subaiti, along with his uncle, Mustafa al-Subaiti, for non-lethal “terrorist” offences committed when he was 12 years old.

The UN’s independent human rights experts have previously expressed concerns about al-Manasif’s case. The experts said Saudi Arabia should immediately halt planned executions of people convicted of offences allegedly committed when they were under 18. “They are using execution as a tool to show how powerful they are and how they can threaten anyone who does not follow their rules,” Dhainy said of the Saudi regime. “We think he should be treated as a minor and not sentenced to death as his charges relate to when he was under 18.”

Human Rights Watch said executing al-Manasif for a non-violent crime committed as a minor would be “an unconscionable new low.”