Rights groups warned on Tuesday that a Saudi man faces imminent execution for offences he allegedly committed when he was a minor, just days after the execution of another man in a similar case.
Youssef al-Manasif, 30, was sentenced to death for "terrorism" after taking part in Arab Spring protests and demonstrations at the funerals of people killed in the Eastern Province in 2011 and 2012, when he was aged 15 and 16, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). His appeal was rejected.
On Saturday, Hassan Zaki al-Faraj and four other men were executed for "terrorism" in the oil-rich province, home to the majority of Saudi Arabia's Shia minority in the predominantly Sunni kingdom.
According to HRW, Faraj was convicted for offences committed when he was 14 years old.
Manasif, who was arrested in 2017, "is also at serious risk of execution", said Joey Shea of HRW.
Since January, the kingdom has executed 15 people for "terrorism", mainly in the east of the country, compared with 40 in 2025.
"Youssef al-Manasif and his family are living through nights of terror, fearing he will be the next to be executed," Jeed Basyouni of London-based rights group Reprieve told AFP.
In April 2025, eight independent UN experts warned of the risk of the imminent execution of five Shia Saudis, including Faraj and Manasif.
Duaa Dhainy, a researcher for the Berlin-based Euro-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR), believes Manasif could be executed "at any moment".
"Our organisation has received information that the Supreme Court has issued a final ruling ordering his execution," she told AFP.
Saudi Arabia has executed 190 people this year, including 89 Saudis and 116 convicted of drug trafficking, 80 of whom were foreigners, according to an AFP tally.
The latest executions come as Saudi Arabia faces daily missile and drone attacks from the Houthis in Yemen, where Riyadh militarily backs the internationally recognised government in its long-running civil war against the Iran-backed group.
According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia was the world's third-most prolific executioner between 2022 and 2025, behind China and Iran.
The kingdom considers the death penalty necessary to maintain public order and insists it applies it only after all appeals have been exhausted.
(AFP)
