Jalal al-Labbad, 30, was executed at Dammam's Central Prison for offenses alleged under Saudi anti-terrorism laws, accused of endangering national security, spreading terror, and supporting armed groups in July 2019. Family-appointed lawyer Duaa Dhainy said Labbad was forced to sign confessions under torture and described the charges as unfair. Labbad grew up in Qatif and participated in 2011 protests against perceived discrimination of Shiite minorities; two brothers were arrested, one executed in 2019 and another remains on death row. The Ministry of Interior framed the execution as a commitment to justice and security, while rights monitors report at least 260 executions this year.
Jalal al-Labbad, who was killed in Dammam's Central Prison on Thursday, was charged under the state's anti-terrorism laws for endangering national security, spreading terror, and supporting armed groups under the state's Anti-Terrorism Crimes and Financing Law in July 2019. "We know that these charges are not, at any level, fair," said Duaa Dhainy, Labbad's family-appointed lawyer. "Jalal was forced to sign confessions under torture."
Labbad grew up in Qatif, a Shia-enclave in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, just north of Dammam. Protests swept the province in 2011, inspired by the wave of regional uprisings later known as the Arab Spring. Labbad and several of his family members joined demonstrations to end what the protesters said was government discrimination against Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority groups. Labbad, Fadel and Mohammad were later arrested for their participation in the protests.
Collection
[
|
...
]