It was announced by Amnesty International today that the Saudi regime executed Abdullah al-Derazi, who was a young man, under the age of 18 at the time of his alleged crimes, linked to him attending demonstrations against the regime.  Amnesty had been warning of his imminent execution for some weeks and had called on King Salman not to ratify his death sentence.

Amnesty was gravely concerned for his life because on 21 August, the Saudi authorities had executed another young man, Jabal Labbad who had also been arrested as a minor, in his case for attending demonstrations and funerals.

Amnesty noted that Abdullah al-Derazi had been executed after a grossly unfair trial. The evidence against Abdullah had been gained through torture.  Amnesty is now calling on the authorities to release Abdullah’s body, while they also express their condolences to his family.  It is hoped that the family will be able to give Abdullah a dignified family and mourn him.

Amnesty has also said that it is very concerned for the lives of a number of other young men who were also minors under the age of 18 when they were arrested. These include Yusuf al-Manasif, Hassan al-Farraj and Jawad Qureis. 

Amnesty said that the execution of Abdullah was just one of a long line of executions. Indeed, there is a spike in the number of executions in Saudi Arabia at present and Amnesty says that it is currently documenting the highest rate of executions in Saudi Arabia since they began recording them in 1990.

What happened with Abdullah al-Derazi?

At the time of his alleged crime, Abdullah al-Derazi was under the age of 18. International human rights and customary law absolutely prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed when the offenders were children. Amnesty called upon Abdullah al Derazi’s death sentence should be immediately quashed. 

Amnesty International received credible information in October 2023, that Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court had secretly upheld the death sentences of Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal Labbad.

Abdullah al-Derazi had previously been convicted by the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) of “terrorism”-related charges over his participation in protests against the government’s treatment of the Shia minority in the country.

Amnesty also noted that Abduallah had “exhausted all domestic legal remedies. Abdullah al-Derazi was convicted and sentenced to death in a grossly unfair trial that lacked procedural safeguards. He had no access to legal representation during his pretrial detention and told the court he was tortured to “confess”. The court did not investigate his claims of torture and other ill-treatment. By refusing to quash Abdullah al-Derazi’s death sentence, Saudi authorities have also reneged on their own promises to end the use of the death penalty for ta’zir offences committed by persons below 18 years of age”.

Time for people to speak up

Newcastle is now connected to the regime in Saudi Arabia through  Newcastle United.Newcastle is a city with a long and proud heritage of human rights work, from opposing slavery 200 years ago, to supporting refugees today. It is my view that this silence from civic leaders and other prominent members of society on Tyneside about what is happening in Saudi Arabia, is truly shameful.

Enough is enough.  It is time for people on Tyneside to speak up about the callousness and brutality of the Saudi regime.

CLICK HERE TO SUPPORT THE BYLINES NETWORK CROWDFUNDER!