- Saudi Arabia has executed prisoner Hassan Zaki al-Faraj for taking part in protests when he was 14 years old, despite claiming to have abolished capital punishment for childhood crimes in 2020.
- Rights groups claimed that al-Faraj was subjected to severe torture and solitary confinement before being executed alongside four other men without prior notice.
- Human rights organisation Reprieve warned that 30-year-old Yousef al-Manasif also faces imminent execution over alleged protest involvement at age 15 following a torture-tainted confession.
- Campaigners are urging the British Foreign Office to intervene diplomatically to prevent al-Manasif's execution, citing previous successful UK interventions for child defendants.
- The execution follows a record high of 347 executions in Saudi Arabia last year, with rights groups raising concerns over unfair trials and widespread rights abuses.
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Saudi Arabia executes man for crime committed when he was 14
