HRW: 14 Shias at ‘imminent risk of execution’ in Saudi

Fourteen Shia Saudi zitizens are at “imminent risk of execution” after Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court upheld their death sentences in an “unfair trial” based on confessions made under torture over protest-related charges, Human Rights Watch has warned.

In a report released yesterday, HRW said some of the detainees had been kept in solitary confinement without any contact with the outside world.

The 14 were among 24 defendants in a mass trial known as the “Qatif 24” case. In June 2016, the Specialized Criminal Court sentenced the men to death.

The defendants were convicted based on confessions they later repudiated in court. They said the confessions were made under torture.

The families of detained said the 14 men were moved from Dammam to Riyadh’s Ha’ir prison on 15 July.

Saudi media claim that the 24 men were members of a “terrorism cell,” which targeted security forces.

Read: Saudi upholds 7 year term for rights activist