Saudi Arabia sentenced the minor Ali Hassan Al-Subaiti to Taazir death punishment, to be added to a list of 7 minors that the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights confirmed that they face death sentences.
Al-Subaiti (May 13, 1999), was arrested on October 24, 2017, when he was 18 years and 5 months old while trying to obtain a driver's license as he was not wanted by the security forces.
From the moment of his arrest, al-Subaiti was subjected to widespread violations, as he was unable to communicate with his family or appoint a lawyer. In the General Investigation Prison in Dammam, he remained in solitary confinement for more than eight months, where he was subjected to various types of cruel torture until he was forced to sign confessions under torture.
In December 2019, his trial began before the notorious Specialized Criminal Court. The Public Prosecution demanded his execution after accusing him of several charges, including covering up people who carried out robberies, seeking to destabilize the social fabric by calling and participating in demonstrations, sit-ins and gatherings, financing terrorism by receiving and delivering money, joining a terrorist organisation, shooting, monitoring and planning, and road control.
Among the statements that the Public Prosecution relied upon in the case was the participation in the demonstrations in support of Bahrain in 2011, when Al-Subaiti was only 12 years old.
The Public Prosecution demanded the death penalty, in violation of the Juvenile Law, which prohibits the death penalty for anyone facing charges or accusations that occurred when he was 18. Al-Subaiti confirmed to the judge that he was forced to sign the confessions used against him. Despite this, and although he does not face the most serious charges, the Specialized Criminal Court in October 2022 sentenced him to death as a disciplinary measure.
The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights confirms that the ruling on aAl-Subaiti is another witness to the unfairness of the Specialized Criminal Court in terrorism cases, which is used to intimidate and criminalise the exercise of legitimate rights, including the right to demonstrate.
ESOHR notes that the ruling is a new exposure of facts regarding Saudi Arabia's promises to stop the death penalty against minors. It is also clear evidence of the shortcomings of the Juvenile Law promoted by Saudi Arabia in 2018 and the royal order published by the Human Rights Commission in 2020 on the protection of minors from this punishment. ESOHR also stresses that the death sentences against minors are a violation of Saudi Arabia's special obligations before the international community, especially the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In addition to Al-Subaiti, at least seven minors are facing the death penalty after unfair trials.