• Urgent Action

Urgent Action: TWO YOUNG MEN AT IMMINENT RISK OF EXECUTION (Saudi Arabia 103.23)

January 18, 2024

Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal Labbad are at risk of imminent execution after Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court secretly upheld their death sentences in secret, without notifying their families or lawyers. Both young men were under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged crimes and were sentenced for crimes related to their participation in anti-government protests after grossly unfair trials that primarily relied on torture-tainted confessions. The young men have exhausted all domestic legal remedies and could now be put to death at any moment if King Salman ratifies their death sentences.  

take action:

  • Write a letter in your own words or using the sample below as a guide to one or both government officials listed. You can also email, fax, call or Tweet them.
  • Click here to let us know the actions you took on Urgent Action 103.23. It’s important to report because we share the total number with the officials we are trying to persuade and the people we are trying to help.

Contact information:

King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud

Office of His Majesty the King

Royal Court, Riyadh

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Fax: +961 11 403 3125

Twitter: @KingSalman

Embassy of Saudi Arabia in the United States

Princess Reema bint Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud

601 Jamal Khashoggi Wy, Washington, DC 20037

Phone: (202) 342-3800

Email:  [email protected]

Salutation: Your Royal Highness,

Sample letter:

Your Majesty King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, or Your Royal Highness,

I am deeply distressed that two young men, Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal Labbad, are at imminent risk of execution and will be put to death should you ratify their death sentences.

Both young men were under the age of 18 at the time of their alleged crimes. Saudi Arabia’s Supreme Court secretly upheld the death sentences of Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal Labbad after the Specialized Criminal Court (SCC) convicted them of terrorism-related changes over their participation in protests against the government’s treatment of the Shi’a minority in the country. Both men were sentenced in grossly unfair trials that lacked procedural safeguards. They had no access to legal representation during their pre-trial detention and told the court that they were tortured to “confess”, which the court did not investigate. With these sentences, Saudi authorities have reneged on their own promises to end the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by persons below eighteen. 

I urge you not to ratify the death sentences of Abdullah al-Derazi and Jalal Abbad, and to call on the competent authorities to quash their convictions and order a fair retrial without recourse to the death penalty. Furthermore, I call on you to order a prompt, impartial, independent, and effective investigation into the defendants’ claims of torture and ill-treatment, including severe beatings, sexual violence, and electrocution.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: