Riyadh's general court, Saudi Arabia, October 20, 2008.
(Beirut) – Saudi authorities announced on October 17, 2026, that they had executed Hassan Zaki al-Faraj, who was convicted of crimes allegedly committed when he was a 14-year-old boy, Human Rights Watch said today.
The Supreme Court has also apparently upheld the death sentence of another man, Yousef al-Manasif, who was convicted of crimes allegedly committed when he was 15 and 16, putting him at risk of imminent execution. At least three other men convicted of alleged crimes committed as children are on death row, despite allegations of torture, forced confessions, and prolonged solitary confinement.
“The execution of Hassan al-Faraj is unconscionable compounded by alleged torture-tainted evidence and a well-documented record of unfair trials,” said Joey Shea, senior Saudi Arabia researcher at Human Rights Watch. “With the Supreme Court’s recent decision, Yousef al-Manasif is also at serious risk of execution.”
The death sentence for al-Manasif was recently upheld by the Supreme Court, the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) reported. In October and November 2022, Saudi Arabia’s notorious Specialized Criminal Court handed down death sentences to al-Manasif and al-Faraj, as well as Ali al-Mabyook, Jawad Qureiris, Ali al-Subaiti, and Mahdi al-Mohsen for alleged terrorism crimes they committed as children, according to a report by the ESOHR and court documents.
Saudi authorities arrested al-Faraj on November 27, 2017, held him in solitary confinement for six months, and charged him with various counterterrorism offenses, including one allegedly committed when he was 14, which relates to meeting and developing friendships with other detained and wanted individuals, based on the charge sheet and court documents. The Specialized Criminal Court sentenced him to death on November 3, 2022
