News briefing
Translated and edited by: Committee for Justice
Geneva: August 1, 2021
A UN memorandum sent by UN human rights experts on May 28 revealed that the Saudi authorities had ignored UN calls to stop the execution of the Saudi minor, Mustafa Al-Darwish, who was executed on June 15.
In their memorandum, the experts called on Saudi Arabia to stop the execution of Al-Darwish given that his trial lacked internationally recognized fair trial standards.
The experts also indicated in their memorandum that Al-Darwish was subjected to torture and incommunicado detention to force him to confess to crimes he did not commit.
The experts also emphasized in their memorandum that the death penalty, where it is not prohibited, should only be carried out in “the most serioud crimes”, involving intentional killing. In the case of Al-Darwish, however, he was accused of demonstrating and criticizing the regime, which does not meet the threshold of a serious crime.
