Yousef Al-Munasif faces risk of execution in Saudi prisons

Yousef Al-Munasif faces the risk of execution in Saudi Arabia after the Court of Appeal upheld his death sentence despite serious violations in his case, including arbitrary arrest, torture, and denial of fair trial guarantees, according to human rights sources.

Sources said Al-Munasif, now 30 years old, was violently arrested without a warrant on April 6, 2017, before being referred to the Specialized Criminal Court.

Authorities accused him of participating in protests, gatherings, and chanting anti-government slogans, alongside other charges classified under terrorism-related cases, despite not involving the “most serious crimes.”

His trial before the Specialized Criminal Court began in September 2019, and in October 2022 the court sentenced him to death. In March 2023, the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal upheld the sentence, placing him at risk of execution at any time.

Human rights sources stated that Al-Munasif was denied access to a lawyer throughout the investigation and pretrial detention, restricted from regular contact with his family, and tried without independent observers present.

The sources also reported that he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment during detention, causing serious health deterioration and hospitalization. The case reportedly relied mainly on confessions extracted under torture, in the absence of sufficient material evidence.