On 15 June, the Saudi Arabian authorities executed Mustafa al-Darwish, a young Saudi Arabian man who was arrested in 2015 for his alleged participation in anti-government protests in the Shi’a-majority Eastern Province. According to court documents, Mustafa al-Darwish was subjected to prolonged pre-trial detention, which was marked by six months of incommunicado detention, solitary confinement and during which he was subjected to torture and other ill-treatment. His trial was marred by gross due process violations, not least of which that the “evidence” based on which the death sentence was issued, included so-called “confessions’” that were extracted under duress.
