Saudi Arabia executes former child protester Jawad Qureiris

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Saudi Arabia executes former child protester Jawad Qureiris Submitted by MEE staff on Sat, 11/14/2026 - 16:32 Rights groups condemn secret execution of former child protester as a…

Saudi Arabia executed a man who was detained as a child, alongside another Saudi national from the Kingdom’s Shia-majority Eastern Province.

In a statement on Saturday, the Saudi Press Agency confirmed that Riyadh had executed Jawad Qureiris.

Hailing from a prominent Shia-majority family in the Kingdom’s Eastern Province, Qureiris was a former child defendant who was just 14 to 15 years old during the 2011-12 Arab Spring protests.

Qureiris’ family has a documented history of encounters with state security: one of his brothers was killed by security forces, while another was arrested at age 13 and faced capital charges related to alleged offences committed when he was nine years old.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Interior also announced that Fadel bin Hassan bin Abdullah Al-Safwani was executed on Saturday.

The ministry claimed the men were convicted of “terrorist crimes,” alleging they joined a foreign terrorist organisation, opened fire on security personnel and vehicles with weapons and explosives, possessed live ammunition, and provided logistical and financial support for operations within the Kingdom.

According to the SPA statement, the cases passed through specialised criminal courts, where the men’s legal responsibility was established before the verdicts were upheld by the Supreme Court and ratified via a royal decree.

Qureiris was arrested in December 2020 and charged with offences related to taking part in protests and organising on social media.

The late activist would have been 14 at the time of some of the protests in which he is alleged to have participated. His family said he was severely tortured until he gave a false confession to non-lethal terrorism offences that was used to convict him.

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