Saudi Arabia executes prominent businessman over participation in 2011 Qatif protests

Businessman Saud al-Faraj has been executed in Saudi Arabia over his participation in anti-government protests in 2011.

Faraj, 42, was convicted in 2022 of participating in demonstrations in Qatif - a Shia-majority governorate in the east of the kingdom - as well as running a terrorist cell and killing police officers.

His death was announced on Wednesday by the interior ministry following a "royal order" approving the execution.

"The Ministry of Interior, in announcing this, affirms to all the commitment of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to maintaining security, achieving justice, and implementing the rulings of Islamic Sharia against anyone who transgresses against the innocent and violates their right to life and security," the ministry said.

"At the same time, it warns anyone who might contemplate such actions that they will face the prescribed legal punishment."

Faraj had long denied the charges against him, saying that he was tortured into a confession, which saw him moved via wheelchair in and out of the prison hospital between interrogation sessions, and held in solitary confinement for 21 months, among other allegations.

He was one of hundreds of Saudis who took part in demonstrations in 2011 during the Arab Spring protests, calling for greater democracy and reforms in the kingdom.

'While the world’s attention is elsewhere, the crown prince is killing off his critics'

- Jeed Basyouni, Reprieve

Many of those involved came from the Shia community in Qatif, who have long complained of discrimination.

Though the country's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has promised and enacted a number of social reforms in the ultra-conservative kingdom since 2015, he has also overseen a fierce crackdown on opposition, including a massive expansion of the death penalty.

According to a tally by AFP, in 2025 Saudi Arabia broke its own record for executions carried out in one year, with 340 people killed.

Of those, a majority (232) were for drug-related cases. Several others were executed over terrorism charges, some of which were vague under Saudi Arabia’s broad definition of the term.

Jeed Basyouni of legal rights group Reprieve told Middle East Eye that it was a "terrifying" time in Saudi Arabia for anyone who criticises Mohammed bin Salman.

"It is no coincidence that the last two years of war in the Middle East have seen the Saudi regime executing more people than ever before, including journalists and people who took part in protests as children - while the world’s attention is elsewhere, the crown prince is killing off his critics," he said.

"For joining demonstrations, Saud al-Faraj was tortured until he falsely 'confessed' to crimes. It is profoundly disturbing that the Saudi authorities felt they had impunity to execute him, despite UN legal experts finding his detention arbitrary and calling for his release."