The family of Abdullah Al-Darazi, a Saudi Shia teenager facing the death penalty over his participation in protests in the country’s eastern Qatif province, is seeking help from the United States to intervene ahead of the upcoming ruling.
Al-Darazi was arrested in 2014 for his involvement in the protests against the execution of Shia cleric Nimr Al-Nimr and alleged mistreatment of Shias in Saudi Arabia. He has faced the death penalty since 2018.
A letter addressed to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, seen by The Guardian newspaper, highlighted the family’s belief that “Saudi Arabia’s government is deaf to our cries but it will listen to you”.
The family is hoping that US intervention will help prevent Al-Darazi from being executed and bring him home.
According to the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), Al-Darazi and another young Saudi man named Youssef Al-Manasif are currently detained by Saudi authorities for their participation in the protests.
Both have allegedly been subjected to torture, solitary confinement, forced confessions, and limited access to legal counsel.
Despite introducing the Juvenile Law over the past five years, which prevents the death penalty for minors and led to the release of several young men charged with protesting, Saudi Arabia still upholds the death penalty in certain circumstances involving minors.
Al-Darazi and Al-Manasif’s cases are still under review by Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court, and if their sentences are upheld, they will be subject to immediate execution
