Saudi Arabia is set to execute six Shia citizens on charges that the United Nations has deemed arbitrary. Human rights organizations and legal experts argue that the cases highlight systematic discrimination against the country’s Shia minority.

The individuals facing execution include five men—Abdullah al-Derazi, Jalal al-Labbad, Yusuf Muhammad Mahdi al-Manasif, Jawad Abdullah Qureiris, and Hassan Zaki al-Faraj—who were all minors at the time of their alleged offenses. The charges against them stem from their participation in peaceful demonstrations in al-Qatif in 2011 and 2012, as well as their attendance at funerals of Shia protesters killed by Saudi security forces.

The sixth individual, businessman Saud al-Faraj, is also facing the death penalty. According to reports, he participated in the 2011-2012 protests and was later arrested in 2019 after refusing to collaborate with Saudi authorities. His case involves allegations of torture, coerced confessions, and secretive legal proceedings.

On December 18, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded that all six men were being held and sentenced arbitrarily. The group cited four key factors: a lack of legal basis for their arrest or death sentences, the targeting of their right to freedom of expression, an unfair trial process, and discrimination based on their Shia identity.

Falah Sayed, a human rights officer at the MENA Rights Group, described the UN’s findings as significant. “Together, the cases are the first time where the UN has given a statement that there is systemic discrimination against Shias within the framework of the death penalty,” he told Middle East Eye. “The UN is becoming more open on this. It’s quite groundbreaking.”

Duaa Dhainy, a researcher at the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR), stated that Saudi Arabia had already carried out 45 executions in 2025, including two Shia individuals. She described an increasing atmosphere of repression in the country. “The trials are secret,” she said. “They threaten families and civil society in Saudi Arabia… Even the family doesn’t know when the execution is.”

Human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have raised concerns about Saudi Arabia’s use of the death penalty. Between January 2016 and February 2024, ESOHR documented 229 executions in the kingdom, with 93 of those individuals from al-Qatif, a region with a significant Shia population.

The five young men currently on death row were subjected to various forms of torture while in detention, according to rights groups. Reports state that they were beaten, electrocuted, waterboarded, and physically assaulted to extract confessions. The UN Working Group found that al-Derazi was held in solitary confinement for six months and subjected to psychological and physical abuse, including being burned with cigarettes.

Businessman Saud al-Faraj was arrested in December 2019. His family’s home was raided, and Saudi authorities later accused him of possessing explosives and heavy weaponry, though no material evidence was presented. Reports indicate that he was subjected to torture, sexual harassment, and threats against his family, leading him to sign a forced confession.

Saudi authorities have not publicly responded to the UN’s findings or the concerns raised by human rights organizations. The fate of the six Shia men remains uncertain as legal proceedings continue.