Following a request for opinion filed by MENA Rights Group and the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) found that the detention and death sentence of five Saudi individuals who participated in protests in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia while they were minors, violates international human rights law and qualifies as arbitrary.
Following a request for opinion filed by MENA Rights Group and the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) found that the detention and death sentence of five Saudi individuals who participated in protests in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia while they were minors, violates international human rights law and qualifies as arbitrary.
The five individuals, Jalal Labbad, Jawad Qureiris, Abdullah al-Derazi, Yusuf al-Manasif and Hassan al-Faraj, took part in the 2011 anti-government protests in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia. All five of them were minors when they participated in these demonstrations. Years later, they were arrested and charged as a result. Jalal Labbad, Jawad Qureiris and Hassan al-Faraj have additionally been charged for terrorism under the 2014 Penal Law for Crimes of Terrorism and its Financing in the anti-cybercrime law. All five of them were sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court, although they were minors at the time of the alleged acts.
In December 2024, MENA Rights Group and ESOHR represented the five minors and submitted a complaint to the UN WGAD and requested the group of experts to issue an Opinion on their case. Ever since, the five minors have been held in Dammam prison.
The Saudi Arabian authorities have had the opportunity to respond to the allegations made by the submitting organisations. Yet, the Working Group found that while the MENA Rights Group and ESOHR have provided a detailed and coherent account, the Government, in contrast, provides limited information to confirm its version of the events and only partially responded to the allegations made by the complainants.
Regarding the legality of the arrests, the Working Group considered that the five minors were not presented with a warrant at the time of arrest, and that they were denied the right to promptly take proceedings before a court to challenge the legality of their detention. The Working Group also found that the five individuals were subjected to incommunicado detention and to prolonged periods of solitary confinement, in breach of which also constituted a breach of article 9 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).
Additionally, the Working Group considered that the detention of the five individuals results from the exercise of their right to freedom of expression, protected by article 19 of the UDHR. This is because their charges are based on their peaceful participation in protests against the State’s treatment of the Muslim Shi’a minority.
Importantly, the Working Group highlighted that three of these individuals were charged and sentenced based on the 2014 Counter-terrorism Law, which lacks legal certainty and contains a vague and broad definition of a terrorist crime. Additionally, the Working Group pointed out that the Counter-terrorism Law, which came into force in February 2014, was applied retroactively to acts committed in 2011 and 2012.
The Working Group also found that their detention violates their right to a fair trial because they were not appointed a lawyer until the beginning of their trial and, instead, they were detained in solitary confinement for several months. The Working Group also addressed the allegations of torture of the five individuals and found that the fairness of proceedings was tainted by mistreatment and torture, amounting to a violation of the individuals’ fair trial rights under article 11 (1) of the UDHR.
Finally, the Working Group has highlighted that there is a concerning pattern of persecution and long-standing history of discrimination against the Shi’a religious minority in the Qatif region in Saudi Arabia, which echoes recent concerns raised by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination on the discrimination experienced by certain ethno-religious minorities in the legal system.
The Working Group concluded by stating that the sentence of the five individuals to death for act they committed while they were minors is a clear violation of the obligations of Saudi Arabia under the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It also stated that “in its 30-year history, the Working Group has found Saudi Arabia in violation of its international human rights obligations in over 75 cases” and that this could amount to a “crime against humanity”.
In light of the above, the Working Group requested the government of Saudi Arabia to take action and inform the Working Group on whether the five individuals have been released, whether an investigation has been conducted into the violation of their rights and, importantly, “bring its laws, particularly the anti-terrorism law, into conformity with the recommendations made in the present opinion and with the commitments made by the Government of Saudi Arabia under international human rights law”.
In light of the above, the Working Group requested the government of Saudi Arabia to take action and inform the Working Group on whether the five individuals have been released, whether an investigation has been conducted into the violation of their rights and, importantly, “bring its laws, particularly the anti-terrorism law, into conformity with the recommendations made in the present opinion and with the commitments made by the Government of Saudi Arabia under international human rights law”.
After the WGAD Opinion was issued, MENA Rights Group and ESOHR also received information indicating that the trials of some of these minors have been reopened. However, due to the lack of transparency, it is difficult to track the progress of these trials and whether they respect international standards of fairness. Furthermore, the information confirmed that the sentences of other minors have not been reviewed. There are currently 4 other minors on death row in Saudi Arabia, making a total of 9 minors sentenced to death in the Kingdom.