Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province – which includes Qatif – has seen bouts of unrest since 2011 [Getty]
Two Shia Saudi citizens were executed in the kingdom’s Eastern Province after they were convicted of “terror offences”, Saudi authorities announced on Thursday.
Mustafa Ali al-Subaiti and his nephew Ali Hassan al-Subaiti were found guilty of “joining a foreign terrorist organisation, participating in the manufacture of explosives and possession of weapons, and killing and assaulting security personnel”, the Saudi interior ministry said.
They were also convicted of firing on a security headquarters and harbouring individuals wanted for murder, kidnapping, and other crimes.
Mustafa was arrested in late 2017 during a clash with security forces in Qatif governorate.
Ali was detained in 2017 at the age of 18 and was 27 at the time of his execution, making him one of the youngest people to be executed by the kingdom, according to the UK-based Sanad rights group.
He was charged over alleged crimes committed while he was still a minor, including attending protests at the age of 12, and harbouring wanted individuals, sources cited by Sanad said.
Ali said during earlier court sessions that he was denied legal representation, blocked from contact with family, tortured, and held in solitary confinement for more than eight months, according to Sanad.
The rights group also questioned the legality of Ali’s execution under Saudi law, which limits sentences for minors to a maximum of ten years.
The latest executions follow that of Saud al-Faraj – another Shia prisoner – last week.
Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province – which includes Qatif – has seen bouts of unrest since 2011 when protesters emboldened by the Arab Spring uprisings took to the streets.
The demonstrators have demanded an end to what they say is discrimination by the Sunni-dominated government, a charge Riyadh denies.
One of the leaders of the protest movement, prominent Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, was executed in 2016 for “terrorism”.
