On November 10, 2021, Abdullah al-Huwaiti mother, in a tweet, announced that the Saudi Supreme Court had overturned his Hirabah death sentence. This means that he will be retried and does not mean that he is no longer likely to be sentenced to death again, as the case file is still open.
In addition to Abdullah, the execution continues to threaten the lives of 4 other minors, Jalal al-Labbad, Sajjad al-Yassin, Youssef al-Manasf and Hasan Zaki al-Faraj. The organization monitored the cases of the four minors in spite of the lack of transparency in the official handling of the execution file, the imposition of silence on society, the continuing intimidation of families and the criminalization of communication with human rights organizations, and a lack of knowledge about the actual number of minors still at risk of execution.
According to ESOHR documentation, the four minors did not face charges considered to be the most serious, and a number of them confirmed that they had been tortured in order to extract their confessions. Their trials are still ongoing despite the lack of justice conditions. Saudi Arabia had claimed to have suspended Tazir death sentences for minors, and a royal decree was issued to include all minors in the juvenile system. However, ESOHR monitoring of Saudi Arabia indicates that there is no change in the demands of the public prosecution in these cases.
It is not known that Saudi Arabia has taken any steps, and in some unhighlighted cases, the horror and fear of the people and the execution carried out.
Abdullah al-Huwaiti was arrested in May 2017, when he was 14, and charged with murder and armed robbery. Despite the flawed evidence, prosecutors demanded he be killed. In October 2019, he was sentenced to death by Tabuk Criminal Court, despite confirming that he had been severely tortured to extract a confession. Abdullah al-Huwaiti's mother has published a memoir of her son from prison in which he spoke about the torture he was subjected to. In January 2021, the Court of Appeal upheld the sentence. In April 2021, the United Nations called on Saudi Arabia to lift the death sentence on al-Huwaiti, saying it was an arbitrary sentence.
With the pending retrial of Abdullah al-Huwaiti, ESOHR assertes that his life is still at risk , where the public prosecution can still recall his death penalty. Saudi laws, despite promises to suspend the death penalty for all minors, still allow for the killing of minors with punitive sentences (Qisas/ Hirabah). Therefore, there is a possibility that al-Huwaiti could still be executed.
ESOHR believes that Al-Huwaiti's case is evidence of the failure of the judiciary to follow up on apparent violations in the cases, including the accused's confirmation that he was tortured. Abdullah was sentenced and the verdict was confirmed, without investigation into his assertion that he was forced to make a confession and despite flaws in the evidence.
ESOHR says that the death penalty continues to threaten the lives of minors in Saudi Arabia. In addition to the cases of the four minors who the public prosecution is calling for to be killed, the judiciary in Saudi Arabia can use Sharia-based murder sentences and Qisas against the minors. In addition, the lack of judicial independence allows for numerous and selective violations and arbitrary sentencing. The organization points out that the Saudi government has resorted to manipulating the cases of minors, as it denied after the execution of Mustafa Al-Darwish that he was a minor, despite the confirmation of official case papers. The organization fears that the public prosecution and manipulation of charges and the age of detainees to show that they are not minors, as it did in Al-Darwish case.
The organization points out that the Saudi government has resorted to manipulating the cases of minors, as it denied after the execution of Mustafa Al-Darwish that he was a minor, despite the confirmation of official case papers. The organization fears that the public prosecution and manipulation of charges and the age of detainees to show that they are not minors, as it did in Al-Darwish case.
The European Saudi Organization for Human Rights considers that the best remedy for detained minors is their release, their access to their rights and the accountability of those responsible for the violations they suffered, especially torture. Saudi Arabia's death penalty promises still fall short of protecting children, manipulation and a lack of judicial independence.