Saudi authorities released Abdullah al-Zaher, a citizen from the Shiite minority whose death sentence was later commuted, after years in prison for participating in anti-government protests, human rights groups said.
He was arrested as a minor in 2012 on terrorism-related charges after he took part in the demonstrations during the Arab Spring uprisings.
“Abdullah al-Zaher was released yesterday following the expiry of his sentence,” ALQST for Human Rights said on Twitter on Monday.
Amnesty International on Tuesday welcomed Zaher’s release, calling for the release of Dawood al-Marhoon, who was also arrested as a minor in 2012 for taking part in protests.
“Abdullah al-Zaher should have never been detained in the first place, but we’re glad he’s now released and back with his family safely,” Amnesty Gulf tweeted.
“Dawood al-Marhoun, who was also detained as a child, should be released immediately as well.”
The Saudi authorities have yet to comment on Zaher’s release and could not be immediately reached when contacted by AFP.
Last month, Ali al-Nimr, who was also arrested as a minor in 2012 for taking part in anti-government protests, was released, according to ALQST and his family.
Nimr is a nephew of Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr who was executed by Saudi Arabia in 2016, leading to the rupture of diplomatic relations between Riyadh and Tehran.
Zaher, Marhoun and Nimr were all handed death sentences that were later commuted to 10 years in prison.
The prison sentences included the time already served.
In April 2020, the authorities said that the kingdom would stop imposing death sentences on people convicted of crimes committed when under the age of 18.
The reform comes in a country which has one of the highest execution rates in the world.
More than 60 people have been executed in the kingdom this year, according to an AFP tally based on official statements.
