UN Experts Call For Justice For 3 Saudi Child Protesters Sentenced To Death As Minors

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd March, 2021) UN rights experts on Wednesday welcomed Saudi Arabia's decision to commute death sentences of three youths, who were arrested for alleged protesting when they were minors, but insisted they must be set free or retried fairly.

"We reiterate our call to the authorities to release Mr. Ali al-Nimr, Mr. Dawood al-Marhoon and Mr. Abdullah al-Zaher or, at the very least, to retry them in accordance with international law and standards, without delay," the experts said.

The trio were detained separately in 2012 aged 15-17, while the Sunni-ruled country's Eastern Province was ablaze with protests against repression of the Shiite minority.

Teens' lawyers said they had been tortured into confessing and convicted of participating in protests, which landed them on death row. That sentence was reduced to a prison term of 10 years in February. Time served will apply, meaning all three will be released in 2022.

"This decision is an important step towards compliance with the country's international human rights obligations," the experts said.

The rights rapporteurs said they continued to receive reports of Saudi Arabia using torture to extract confessions and dishing out death sentences for crimes related to the exercise of basic freedoms. They voiced concern for the fate of other inmates, including minors, who remained on death row.