Saudi man executed for minor crimes

Mustafa Hashem al-Darweish was arrested in 2015 for violations linked to protests. Saudi authorities say he was charged with forming a terrorist group and trying to commit an armed uprising. But rights groups had sought to halt his execution, saying the trial had been unfair.

Amnesty International and Repries, an organisation against the death penalty, say 26-year-old al-Dares had already withdrawn his confession, which he claimed did after being tortured.

Saudi authorities have not publicly commented on the indictment. According to Reuters news agency, accusations of al-Dares included “the search for security destruction by” and “creating the” dispute.

The evidence against him included a photo “offive to security forces” and its participation in over 10 subx2>trasions” in 2011 and 2012. According to the media, the Saudi Interior Ministry had declared that al-Dareish had also tried to kill local security forces. However, court documents did not specify the dates of any of his violations, according to Reuters.

While the Reprets wrote that the al-Dare family did not receive warning of execution in advance and learned only online.

How can a guy be executed because of a picture on his phone? Since his arrest, we knew nothing but pain. It's a live death for the entire family.”, his family said in a statement, published by the Repres, broadcasts Klankosova.tv.

The Saudi Interior Ministry, quoted by the state news agency SPA, said al-Dares were executed in Dammam, a town in the oil-rich eastern province. Saudi authorities last year pledged they would no longer serve death sentences for people committing crimes while they are minor and instead implementing only a 10-year maximum prison sentence, Bbc.com reports. Amnesty and Reprieve say the al-Dare issue should have been considered under the new law. They and other groups have constantly raised concerns about implementing this reform.

While earlier this year, the Saudi Commission for Human Rights said that the kingdom had “drastically lowered” the number of people it killed in 2020. However, according to the Saudi Arabia Reprive, it had now executed the same number of people in the first half of 2021 as it did throughout 2020.