Amnesty expresses deep concern regarding the execution of a minor in Saudi Arabia.  According to sources the execution took place the 21 of July in the town Taif.

Dhahian Rakan al-Sibai'i was sentenced for murder when 15 years old, but held imprisoned until his 18th birthday when he was executed.  This May Amnesty pleaded to Saudi Arabian authorities to change his sentence and stop the execution.

Amnesty requests that the Saudi Arabian king Abdullah immediately stop all executions of minors in Saudi Arabia and that the laws be reformed so that no child under the age of 18 can be sentenced to death.

There are no official information on how many minors are on death row in Saudi Arabia but according to reports around a hundred persons are facing execution.

Saudi Arabia is one of the countries in the world executing most people per year.  Since September 2006 at least 143 persons have been executed in the country.

Saudi Arabia has signed the UN Child Convention that explicitly forbids the use of death penalty for minors.

Original by Solveig Hauser on www.amnesty.se

Translated by Hoakz