Amnesty launches campaign to save 3 Saudi activists

underage at the time but were sentenced to death by Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court

The rights organization launched a campaign on Friday for Ali al-Nimr, Abdullah al-Zaher and Dawood Marhoon, who were arrested in 2012, over their alleged roles in anti-regime protests in the Qatif region of the Eastern Province.

All the three were underage at the time but were sentenced to death by Saudi Arabia’s Specialized Criminal Court. With all appeals exhausted now, the three could be executed at any time.

Ali al-Nimr is the nephew of the late prominent Shia cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh NimrBaqir al-Nimr, who was executed in early January. The killing of Sheikh Nimr caused global uproar against Saudi Arabia’s crackdown on minorities, especially the Shia Muslims that account for more than 20 percent of the Saudi population.

Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province has been the scene of demonstrations since February 2011, with protesters demanding reforms, freedom of expression, and the release of political prisoners and an end to widespread discrimination against people of the oil-rich region.