Saudi regime executes another child offender for attending protests

Amnesty said that the execution of Abdullah was just one of a long line of executions

It was announced by Amnesty International today that the Saudi regime executed Abdullah al-Derazi, who was a young man, under the age of 18 at the time of his alleged crimes, linked to him attending demonstrations against the regime. Amnesty had been warning of his imminent execution for some weeks and had called on King Salman not to ratify his death sentence.

Amnesty was gravely concerned for his life because on 21 August, the Saudi authorities had executed another young man, Jabal Labbad who had also been arrested as a minor, in his case for attending demonstrations and funerals.

Amnesty noted that Abdullah al-Derazi had been executed after a grossly unfair trial. The evidence against Abdullah had been gained through torture. Amnesty is now calling on the authorities to release Abdullah’s body, while they also express their condolences to his family. It is hoped that the family will be able to give Abdullah a dignified family and mourn him.

Amnesty has also said that it is very concerned for the lives of a number of other young men who were also minors under the age of 18 when they were arrested. These include Yusuf al-Manasif, Hassan al-Farraj and Jawad Qureis.

Amnesty said that the execution of Abdullah was just one of a long line of executions. Indeed, there is a spike in the number of executions in Saudi Arabia at present and Amnesty says that it is currently documenting the highest rate of executions in Saudi Arabia since they began recording them in 1990.

At the time of his alleged crime, Abdullah al-Derazi was under the age of 18. International human rights and customary law absolutely prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed when the offenders were children. Amnesty called upon Abdullah al Derazi’s death sentence should be immediately quashed.

Amnesty International received credible information in October 2023, that Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court had secretly upheld the death sentences of Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal Labbad.

Abdullah al-Derazi had previously been convicted by the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) of “terrorism”-related charges over his participation in protests against the government’s treatment of the Shiite minority in the country.

Amnesty also noted that Abduallah had “exhausted all domestic legal remedies.

Abdullah al-Derazi was convicted and sentenced to death in a grossly unfair trial that lacked procedural safeguards. He had no access to legal representation during his pretrial detention and told the court he was tortured to “confess”.

The court did not investigate his claims of torture and other ill-treatment. By refusing to quash Abdullah al-Derazi’s death sentence, Saudi authorities have also reneged on their own promises to end the use of the death penalty for ta’zir offences committed by persons below 18 years of age”.

Newcastle is now connected to the regime in Saudi Arabia through Newcastle United. Newcastle is a city with a long and proud heritage of human rights work, from opposing slavery 200 years ago, to supporting refugees today. It is my view that this silence from civic leaders and other prominent members of society on Tyneside about what is happening in Saudi Arabia, is truly shameful.

Enough is enough. It is time for people on Tyneside to speak up about the callousness and brutality of the Saudi regime.

Source: northeastbylines.co.uk, Peter Sagar, October 20, 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

Comments

China executes 11 members of gang who ran billion-dollar criminal empire in Myanmar

China has executed 11 members of the notorious Ming family criminal gang, who ran mafia-like scam centers in Myanmar and killed workers who tried to escape, Chinese state media reported on Thursday. The Ming family was one of the so-called 4 families of northern Myanmar — crime syndicates accused of running hundreds of compounds dealing in internet fraud, prostitution and drug production, and whose members held prominent positions in the local government and militia aligned with Myanmar’s ruling junta.

Florida | Man convicted of leaving girl to be eaten by gators avoids death penalty

After about 4 hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock. A South Florida man who dropped off a 5-year-old child in the Everglades to be eaten alive by gators nearly 3 decades ago was given a second chance at life as jurors recommended he should spend the rest of his life behind bars instead of being sent to death row. After about four hours of deliberations, jurors on Friday recommended Harrel Braddy should be sentenced to life in prison for the 1998 killing of 5-year-old Quantisha Maycock.

Federal Judge Rules Out Death Penalty for Luigi Mangione in UnitedHealth CEO Killing

NEW YORK — A federal judge has dismissed two charges against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of assassinating UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, effectively removing the possibility of the death penalty in the high-profile case. U.S. District Judge Margaret Garnett ruled Friday that the murder charge through use of a firearm — the only count that could have carried a capital sentence — was legally incompatible with the remaining interstate stalking charges against Mangione.

Georgia parole board suspends scheduled execution of Cobb County death row prisoner

The execution of a Georgia man scheduled for Wednesday has been suspended as the State Board of Pardons and Paroles considers a clemency application. Stacey Humphreys, 52, would have been the state's first execution in 2025. As of December 16, 2025, Georgia has carried out zero executions in 2025. The state last executed an inmate in January 2020, followed by a pause due to COVID-19. Executions resumed in 2024, but none have occurred this year until now. Humphreys had been sentenced to death for the 2003 killings of 33-year-old Cyndi Williams and 21-year-old Lori Brown, who were fatally shot at the real estate office where they worked.

California | Convicted killer Scott Peterson keeps swinging in court — but expert says he’s not going anywhere but his cell

More than two decades after Laci Peterson vanished from her Modesto, California, home, the murder case that captivated the nation continues to draw legal challenges, public debate and renewed attention. As the year comes to a close, Scott Peterson, convicted in 2004 of murdering his pregnant wife and their unborn son Conner, remains behind bars, serving life without the possibility of parole. His wife disappeared on Christmas Eve in 2002, and a few months later, the remains of Laci and Conner were found in the San Francisco Bay.

Oklahoma board recommends clemency for inmate set to be executed next week

A voting board in Oklahoma decided Wednesday to recommend clemency for Tremane Wood, a death row inmate who is scheduled to receive a lethal injection next week at the state penitentiary in McAlester. Wood, 46, faces execution for his conviction in the 2001 murder of Ronnie Wipf, a migrant farmworker, at an Oklahoma City hotel on New Year's Eve, court records show. The recommendation was decided in a 3-2 vote by the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, consisting of five members appointed by either the governor or the state's top judicial official, according to CBS News affiliate KWTV. Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Sitt will consider the recommendation as he weighs whether to grant or deny Wood's clemency request, which would mean sparing him from execution and reducing his sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Death toll in Iran protests could exceed 30,000

In an exclusive report, the American magazine TIME cited two senior officials from the Iranian Ministry of Health, who stated that the scale of the crackdown against protesters on January 18 and 19 was so widespread that 18-wheeler trailers replaced ambulances. In its report, based on testimony from these two high-ranking officials, TIME revealed statistics that differ vastly from the official narrative of the Islamic Republic.

The US reporter who has witnessed 14 executions: ‘People need to know what it looks like’

South Carolina-based journalist Jeffrey Collins observed back-to-back executions in 2025 after the state revived the death penalty following a 13-year pause Jeffrey Collins has watched 14 men draw their final breaths. Over 25 years at the Associated Press, the South Carolina-based journalist has repeatedly served as an observer inside the state’s execution chamber, watching from feet away as prison officials kill men who were sentenced to capital punishment. South Carolina has recently kept him unusually busy, with seven back-to-back executions in 14 months.

Florida's second execution of 2026 scheduled for February

Florida’s second execution of 2026, a man convicted of killing a grocery story owner, will take place in February. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant Jan. 23 for Melvin Trotter, 65, to die by lethal injection Feb. 24. Florida's first execution will take place just a few weeks earlier when Ronald Palmer Heath is set to die Feb. 10. Trotter was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in 1987 for strangling and stabbing Virgie Langford a year earlier in Palmetto.

China executes another four members of powerful Myanmar-based crime family

China has executed another four members of a powerful Myanmar-based crime family that oversaw 41 pig butchering scam* compounds across Southeast Asia. The executed individuals were members of the Bai family, a particularly powerful gang that ruled the Laukkai district and helped transform it into a hub for casinos, trafficking, scam compounds, and prostitution. China’s Supreme People’s Court approved the executions after 21 members were charged with homicide, kidnapping, extortion, operating a fraudulent casino, organizing illegal border crossings, and forced prostitution. The court said the Bai family made over $4 billion across its enterprise and killed six Chinese citizens.

Death Penalty News

Search This Blog