Saudi Arabia has executed Jalal al-Labbad, a man accused of crimes allegedly committed when he was 15, despite international conventions prohibiting capital punishment for minors. Labbad, who grew up in the Shiite-majority city of Qatif, was detained in 2017 and charged with terrorism-related offenses linked to the Arab Spring protests in the Eastern Province. Rights groups, including the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) and Reprieve, denounced the execution, saying confessions were extracted through torture and that the ruling violated the kingdom’s own 2018 law banning the death penalty for childhood crimes.

Arrest, Charges, And Torture Allegations

According to court documents, Labbad was prosecuted in 2019 under Saudi Arabia’s Anti-Terrorism Crimes and Financing Law. He was accused of endangering national security, supporting armed groups, and possessing firearms as a minor. Labbad admitted having weapons but insisted they were for self-defense. ESOHR and UN reports said he was electrocuted, beaten, deprived of sleep, and forced to sign pre-written confessions. He was also accused of involvement in the 2017 killing of Judge Mohammed al-Jirani, though evidence was limited to confessions obtained under torture.

Family Targeted Across A Decade

Labbad’s case is part of a wider crackdown in Qatif, where Shiite activists protested against discrimination during the Arab Spring. His brother Fadel was executed in 2019, while another brother, Mohammad, remains on death row after reportedly surrendering in hopes of a pardon. Rights monitors warn that Mohammad also faces imminent execution. ESOHR said, “Killing Jalal today makes us sure that Saudi Arabia will continue to execute people with charges related to the protests in al-Qatif.”

Surge In Executions

Saudi Arabia has carried out at least 260 executions this year, according to Reprieve, with more than 1,800 people executed over the past decade. Labbad is the first child defendant executed since 2021. Human rights advocates stressed that the case highlights Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s unfulfilled pledges of reform, as protesters and child defendants remain at risk of execution without transparent legal proceedings. Amnesty International noted that Saudi Arabia remains among the world’s top executioners, alongside China and Iran.