killed for other crimes. Arrest Qureiris was arrested at age 13 for a crime committed when he was 10. He was accused of taking part in anti-Saudi government protests during 2011, and also of throwing Molotov cocktails at a police station after his brother was killed by Saudi forces in a protest in 2011. CNN published a video that showed Qureiris leading a group of children at a bike protest in 2011. According to the CNN report, Qureiris denied the charges and said he was forced to confess under torture. When he was arrested by the Saudi government, he became the youngest recorded political prisoner in Saudi Arabia. Amnesty International claimed that Qureiris was moved to a Mabahith prison in al-Dammam, which meant that he was 16 when sent to an adult prison. Qureiris was born to a family of political activists in Qatif. His older brother, Ali Qureiris, was killed during a protest in 2011. The Saudi border police arrested Qureiris while he was traveling with his family to Bahrain in 2014. Amnesty International claimed that Qureiris was denied access to a lawyer until his first court session in August 2018. His first court session was held at Saudi Arabia's Specialized Criminal Court, a court that is only used for political charges. According to international law, the death penalty is forbidden for persons under age 18. Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's Middle East research director, has claimed that Saudi Arabia actively uses the death penalty for minors. Human rights groups also take issue with Saudi Arabia's use of beheading as a means for punishment. The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights said that the Saudi public prosecutor's office charged Qureiris for participating in anti-Saudi government protests and sentenced him to death. Reactions The Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Washington, D.C. has not commented on Qureiris's case. Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International's Middle East research director, said that "The international community [...] must take a public stand on these cases and demand that the Saudi authorities end their use of the death penalty". Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, said "the execution of children is forbidden in international law, but the Saudi government is trying to show its impunity to the world by beheading prisoners and people." See also Mustafa al-Darwish Walid Fitaihi References Human rights abuses in Saudi Arabia Anti-corruption measures Political history of Saudi Arabia Judiciary of Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabian