Bahrainis Protests Saudi Execution of Their Youths

By Al Ahed Staff, Agencies

Angry demonstrations erupted in Bahrain condemning the execution by Saudi authorities of two Bahraini youths who were allegedly accused of "joining a terrorist cell."

On Monday, Riyadh announced the execution of two Bahrainis, charged with "joining a terrorist cell," aimed at "destabilizing the security" of Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, bringing the total number of executions in the kingdom to nine this month, Arabi21 reported.

The Saudi Press Agency [SPA] reported that Jaafar Muhammad Sultan and Sadiq Majeed Thamer were the names of the two persons who had been executed.

The executions took place on Monday morning in Saudi Arabia's Shiite-majority eastern region.

Protesters in Bahrain denounced the Saudi and Bahraini governments.

The Shiite opposition group Al-Wefaq Society also condemned the execution of the two Bahraini men, who had been arrested in Saudi Arabia in 2015. On its Facebook page, the society accused the Saudi regime of committing a crime.

Bahrain has witnessed protests since 2011 with people calling for a constitutional monarchy, but they have been suppressed with the assistance of Saudi forces.

In October 2021, Amnesty International reported discretionary death sentences issued by Saudi authorities against Bahrainis, accusing them of smuggling explosives, receiving military training, and participating in protests in Bahrain. The organization said the confessions were extracted through torture.

UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial or arbitrary executions, Maurice Tidbal-Benz, called on Saudi authorities in June to halt any steps toward executing the two men.

The number of such executions in Saudi Arabia this month has now reached nine, with eight carried out in the eastern region, seven of whom were Saudi nationals.

According to official data, Saudi authorities have executed 41 people since the beginning of this year. In 2022, there were 147 executions, more than double the number in 2021 [69].

Saudi Arabia faces extensive criticism from human rights organizations due to its high rates of executions.

The Riyadh regime authorities maintain that defendants have exhausted all legal avenues.

Since King Salman assumed power in 2015, Saudi Arabia has carried out over a thousand executions, as per a joint report by Reprieve and the European-Saudi Organization for Human Rights published earlier this year.