Saudi protester Mohammad al-Faraj sentenced to death

Mohammad Abdullah al-Faraj is originally from al-Awamiyah, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. He lived in Dammam and was working as an employee in the private sector. In 2011 and 2012, he allegedly participated in demonstrations and funerals that took place in al-Qatif district in Saudi Arabia protesting the treatment of Shi’a citizens. He was abducted from his workplace on February 28, 2017, by officials from the Mabahith (General Investigation Directorate or GID). Mohammad Abdullah al-Faraj was never informed that he was accused of any crime.

From that date, he was placed in detention in the Dammam Prison and was not allowed to speak to his family. He was allowed his first phone call only a week later after much insisting. He was placed in solitary confinement for four months, during which he was subjected to severe physical and psychological torture.

On September 16, 2019, he was presented before the Specialised Criminal Court (SCC) and was presented with the list of charges against him. The charges concerned acts that relate to his freedom of expression and were based mainly on the counter-terrorism legal framework.

The SCC issued its first verdict on October 2, 2022, and sentenced Mohammad Abdullah al-Faraj to the death penalty under ta’zir. This verdict was confirmed by the Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal (SCCA) on March 9, 2023. In August 2023, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the SCCA without any explanation. On March 30, 2024, the SCCA upheld the sentence for the second time.

A few months later, the family was informed that the case of Mohammad Abdullah al-Faraj was going to be retried, and his death sentence was suspended pending a new verdict. A lengthy hearing took place on December 5, 2024, during which there was a heavy military presence. The Public Prosecutor presented a new list of charges, which turned out to be the same as the previous one.

They attended several hearings and on February 25, 2025, the SCCA sentenced Mohammad Abdullah al-Faraj to the death penalty once again under ta’zir.

Mohammad Abdullah al Faraj was not appointed a lawyer until four years into his detention, in February 2023.

He is held in Dammam Prison to date.

Source: menarights.org, Staff, March 19, 2025

"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,
but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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