The Public Prosecution Office in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia calls for the imposition of Hirabah punishment against the minor Youssef Al-Manasif and five others, including a minor (Sajjad Al-Yassin). The six have been subject to a mass trial in the notorious Specialized Criminal Court since September 20, 2019, and so far, a preliminary ruling has not been issued against them.
Yousef Al-Manasif (September 8, 1996) was arrested on April 6, 2017, near Qatif Court, in a violent manner and violation of local regulations. Suddenly, while walking in the street, Saudi security forces pointed a weapon in his face and took him to prison without presenting an arrest warrant or informing him of the reasons. He was then 20 years and six months old.
His family was informed of his arrest and transfer to the General Investigation Prison in Dammam. However, they were allowed to see or visit him only after six months of his arrest, during which time he remained in solitary confinement and isolated from the outside world. In mid-October 2017, the prison administration allowed his family to visit.
During the period of detention, Youssef Al-Manasef was subjected to severe physical torture, which led to his loss of consciousness and hospitalization. The torture also caused him health complications and back pain. He underwent examinations at the Security Forces Hospital, but he did not receive the results, pictures, or medical report. The prison administration did not allow his family to visit him until after forcing him to sign confessions, which the Public Prosecution Office later used against him in court as evidence of the charges against him.
The Public Prosecution charged him with several charges, most of which were during his childhood. Among them: participating in the funerals of some people who were shot dead by the security forces in demonstrations and raids, one when he was 15 years old, and another when he was 16 years old, in addition to participating in demonstrations and riotous gatherings, chanting slogans, raising anti-state slogans, seeking to stir up sedition and division, destabilizing security, seeking to destabilize the national cohesion, advocating, participating and inciting sit-ins, demonstrations and gatherings that affect the unity and stability of the Kingdom, joining a terrorist cell, monitoring and shooting security men, selling narcotic pills to three security men, and covering up wanted persons The prosecution also charged him with financing terrorism and terrorist acts, by relying on his statements, which stipulate receiving, transporting and handing over tires to riot sites.
The Public Prosecution office did not present any evidence of the charges against the minor, Youssef Al-Manasef, except for declarations that he said before the court that they were extracted from him under torture. In addition to other declarations extracted from former detainees under similar circumstances.
Yousef Al-Manasif was deprived of his basic right to a lawyer during the investigation and pretrial detention period that extended to 29 months, in flagrant violation of local regulations and fair trial conditions.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights believes that the government's continued demand for the execution of the minor Yousef Al-Manasif indicates its lack of seriousness in implementing the juvenile system and its non-compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The organization points out that Al-Manasif has been subjected to flagrant violations since his arrest, and therefore the Public Prosecution's demand to kill him under these circumstances is tantamount to complicity in torture and a cover-up for government criminals.
The organization explains that Saudi Arabia employs strict religious understandings to justify the execution of children in unfair trials that lack conditions of justice by relying on non-serious accusations, some of which are fundamental rights that are not classified as crimes in international law. Besides Youssef, the organization was able to monitor 4 cases of other minors facing the death penalty. The data indicate that other minors face a similar fate, but the lack of transparency in the Saudi government's handling of the execution files prevents their documentation.