18-year-old Murtaja Qureiris, imprisoned by the Saudi Arabian government for nearly five years was facing execution for taking part in a protest which happened eight years ago when he was just ten years old. According to CNN, the teenager was spared execution and instead sentenced to 12 years in prison. The boy was initially arrested when he was 13 years old, three years after an Arab Spring-related protest that he took part in.
Qureiris has spent at least 15 months of his five years in prison isolated in solitary confinement.
The Saudi government charged him with engaging in anti-government protests, possession of a firearm. They also allege he was affiliated with a terrorist organization. A boy who was only ten years old at the time was accused of being a gun-wielding terrorist.
The prosecutor in the case had recommended that the now 18-year-old young man would be killed, having then his body should be dismembered, or crucified.
A video obtained by CNN depicts Qureiris at ten years old, leading a young group of Shia protesters through the street on his bike.
Exclusive: When Murtaja Qureiris was 10, he led protests demanding rights for Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority. Now, at the age of 18, he faces the death penalty. https://t.co/9Bn1FAW5o1 pic.twitter.com/TMvF7WkGwq
— CNN International (@cnni) June 7, 2019
EXCLUSIVE: Saudi teen, Murtaja Qureiris, was arrested at 13 for protest-related offenses. Including walking at his brother's funeral. Today he faces the death penalty. by myself, @muhammadakd @mark_oliver_ Byron Manley and @ghazibalkiz https://t.co/p1Sh6UtYDB pic.twitter.com/RJmxzcTINH
— Tamara Qiblawi (@tamaraqiblawi) June 7, 2019
When Qureiris was arrested, he was the youngest political prisoner at the time.
According to CNN, the prosecution’s case is built entirely on forced confessions and that Qureiris denied the charges he initially confessed to.
Human rights groups have been pleading with the Saudi government not to execute the young man.
The country is notorious for its brutal regime for many years. However, its tactics have become even more violent and inhumane since the Arab Spring. The regime has become even more tyrannical to assert its dominance and scare its subjects into submission.
Saudi Arabia performed at least 158 executions in 2015, then at least 154 in 2016, and a minimum of 146 executions in 2017. The regime has continued to shock the world with its mass executions, that include both beheadings and crucifixions.
Earlier in 2019, Saudi Arabia announced executed 37 men, all of whom were accused of being terrorists. Nevertheless, a vast majority of those executed were members of the country’s Shia minority, that have been protesting for freedom and human rights, just as young Qureiris was.
COMMENTS