AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The execution of Hassan Zakri al-Faraj, a 29-year-old Saudi Shia citizen who had been sentenced to death on the charge of participating in protests during his adolescence, faced severe criticism from human rights groups. These bodies, questioning Riyadh's claim about abolishing the death penalty for crimes committed by individuals under the legal age, warned about the situation of other convicts in these cases.
It is worth noting that last week, Hassan al-Faraj was executed along with four other Shias by the Riyadh government.
According to a report published in English-language media, al-Faraj was about 14 years old at the time of the charges raised against him and was arrested and tried in connection with protests related to the condition of the Shia community in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province. Human rights organizations have announced that he faced torture and long-term solitary confinement during his detention and was deprived of contact with the outside world; claims that have increased concerns about the trial process and the validity of confessions obtained from him.
The human rights organization "MENA Rights / Middle East and North Africa Human Rights Group" and the "Reprieve" group (based in the UK) are among the institutions that have criticized this execution and its consequences.
Jeid Besioni from Reprieve questioned Saudi Arabia's position on abolishing the death penalty for crimes committed under the legal age and called for action by the British government and other international partners to prevent the execution of Yousef al-Munasif; an individual who, according to the organization's report, now faces the risk of execution due to alleged participation in protests at the age of 15.
The al-Munasif case has also highlighted other dimensions of human rights criticism. He was arrested in 2017 and faced charges including participating in gatherings that disturb security, membership in a terrorist group, and financing terrorism. Reprieve emphasized that he was tortured to confess and that, for the first time five years after his arrest, he met with a government-appointed lawyer.
His and al-Faraj's death sentences had been issued in November 2022; that is, more than two years after Saudi Arabia announced a change in policy regarding the death penalty for crimes committed during childhood.
In addition to these cases, the statistics on executions in Saudi Arabia have also been a subject of criticism by human rights bodies. According to the statistics of the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, this country executed at least 347 people in 2025; a figure higher than the 345 executions recorded in 2024. Amnesty International has also announced that the number of executions in Saudi Arabia had reached nearly 100 by June 2026. From the critics' perspective, the issue is not merely the execution of one individual but also encompasses the credibility of declared commitments regarding children's rights, observance of fair trial, and limiting the death penalty.
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