RIYADH (Dispatches) – The Saudi Ministry of Interior has announced that a death sentence against a young Shia man has been carried out, nearly seven years after his arrest.
The ministry said that it had carried out the death sentence against Manhal al-Ribh, who was convicted of “joining a terrorist cell seeking corruption in the country”.
Al-Ribh alleged has shot at security vehicles with intent to kill and possessing weapons and ammunition with the aim of disturbing security.
He was also charged with hiding a wanted person and supporting his ideology, in an indirect reference to the Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr who was executed by Saudi authorities in 2016.
Al-Ribh is the 20th person to be executed by Saudi authorities this year.
Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province has been the scene of peaceful demonstrations since February 2011. Protesters have been demanding reforms, freedom of expression, the release of political prisoners, and an end to economic and religious discrimination against the region.
The protests have been met with a heavy-handed crackdown, with regime forces increasing security measures across the province.
Ever since Mohammed bin Salman became Saudi Arabia’s crown prince and de facto leader in 2017, the kingdom has arrested dozens of activists, bloggers, intellectuals, and others perceived as political opponents, showing almost zero tolerance for dissent even in the face of international condemnations of the crackdown.
As a result, Islamic scholars have been executed, women’s rights campaigners have been put behind bars and tortured, and freedom of expression, association, and belief continue to be denied.
In January 2016, Saudi authorities executed Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, who was an outspoken critic of the Riyadh regime. Nimr had been arrested in Qatif in 2012.