Together for Justice strongly condemns the execution of Jalal Hassan Al-Labbad, carried out by Saudi authorities on August 21, 2025, in what constitutes a premeditated and unlawful killing under the guise of counterterrorism.
Jalal Al-Labbad was arrested in 2017 for participating in peaceful protests and funerals of demonstrators killed by security forces in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province. At the time of the protests—in 2011 and 2012—he was a child, only 15 years old. Despite this, Saudi courts proceeded to sentence him to death, based on vague and retrospective charges related to his participation in these events.
His arrest was violent, his detention arbitrary, and his treatment in custody inhumane. Jalal was:
- Tortured repeatedly, causing him to be hospitalized multiple times.
- Held in solitary confinement for prolonged periods.
- Denied access to legal representation and visits from his family.
- Tried in secret and sentenced to death by the Specialised Criminal Court after a process that failed to meet even the most basic standards of fairness.
In October 2022, the Saudi appeals court upheld the death sentence. The Supreme Court quietly confirmed the ruling in 2023, without notifying the family. Despite repeated calls from human rights organizations and UN experts to suspend the sentence and recognize the blatant violations of international law, Saudi authorities proceeded with the execution in silence.
In November 2024, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that Jalal’s detention had no legal basis, that his trial was grossly unfair, and that sentencing him to death for acts committed as a child violated the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, to which Saudi Arabia is a party.
Nonetheless, the regime chose to ignore these findings, and on August 21, 2025, Jalal Al-Labbad was executed—not for a crime, but for expressing dissent as a child in a country that criminalizes protest.
A Systemic Crime, with International Silence
The execution of Jalal is not an isolated incident. It is part of a broader pattern of repression by the Saudi regime, in which torture, secret trials, death sentences, and executions are routinely used to crush dissent—particularly among the Shia minority.
Even more disturbing is the international community’s continued embrace of the Saudi regime, awarding it sporting events, economic deals, and diplomatic legitimacy, while ignoring its systematic human rights abuses.
This silence is not neutrality—it is complicity.
Together for Justice demands:
- An independent international investigation into the execution of Jalal Al-Labbad and others sentenced to death for peaceful expression.
- An immediate moratorium on all executions in Saudi Arabia, particularly those related to childhood offenses or political expression.
- The revocation of international platforms, partnerships, and privileges granted to Saudi Arabia, including sporting and cultural events, until concrete human rights reforms are enacted.
- The accountability of Saudi officials involved in arbitrary detention, torture, and extrajudicial executions.
Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty against individuals for acts committed as children, under duress, and without fair trial guarantees, is a crime that must not be met with indifference.The killing of Jalal Al-Labbad is not justice—it is murder.