Saudi releases Shia Muslim on a death row; was youngest prisoner at the time of arrest

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia has released a Shia Muslim a death row, according to human rights organizations.

London-based human rights organization ALQST announced on Twitter on Friday, “The release of Murtaja Qureiris, who is considered the youngest prisoner in Saudi Arabia at the time of his arrest in 2014, at the age of 13, for participating in protests against the authorities.”

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The organization added that Qureiris was facing the death penalty and “was subsequently sentenced to eight years in prison on charges including participating in protests at the age of ten.” And considering that “the arrest of Qureiris should not have happened.”

Lina Al-Hathloul, the sister of the former detained Saudi activist, Loujain Al-Hathloul, wrote, “Murtaja was arrested when he was a child, and he is now released after he was sentenced to death and the sentence was commuted. The photo before and after kills me.”

Lina was referring to a picture showing Murtaja when he was arrested, as a child and another showed him as a young man and his features had changed a lot.

In recent months, the Saudi authorities have released at least three young men from the Shiite minority, including the nephew of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, whose execution in Saudi Arabia in 2016 led to protests in Iran that eventually led to the severing of diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran.

The Kingdom has long been criticized by human rights organizations for its high execution rates and judicial system.

The kingdom implemented judicial reforms in 2020, including the abolition of the death penalty for those convicted of crimes under the age of eighteen and the moratorium on flogging, which human rights defenders welcomed.

The pace of executions in Saudi Arabia has accelerated since the beginning of the year, while the kingdom is witnessing an unprecedented campaign of social openness led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, accompanied by a crackdown on opponents.