Saudi authorities announced on Monday that they had executed a man who human rights groups and UN experts say was a protester who joined rare anti-government demonstrations as a minor in 2011.

“The death sentence was carried out against Abdullah al-Derazi, a Saudi national, in the Eastern Province,” the official Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said on Monday, adding that he had been convicted of “terrorism”.

UN experts called for the release of al-Derazi in April, saying his detention was arbitrary and he was exercising his right to protest over the government’s treatment of minority Shia Muslims.

Since the start of 2025, Saudi Arabia has executed at least 300 people, according to an AFP tally based on official announcements.
In 2024, the kingdom carried out 338 executions, a record that is likely to be surpassed this year.

Derazi was convicted of terrorism along with eight others for taking part in the anti-government protests in 2011 in the Eastern Province, according to human rights organisation Amnesty International.

“His family learned about the execution through social media,” said Duaa Dhainy, a researcher for the Berlin-based European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR).

“They were not given the opportunity to say goodbye to Abdullah, were given no official call by Saudi Arabian authorities to notify them of the execution, and his body has not been released to the family.”

His death sentence was confirmed in secret by the country’s Supreme Court, along with that of Jalal al-Labbad, another young man who was executed in August, according to Amnesty.

Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s most prolific executioners, has put 33 people to death for terrorism this year and 202 for drug-related offences.