Saudi Arabia, September 5th, 2018: Saudi Arabia’s public prosecutor sought the death penalty against prominent cleric Sheikh Salman al-Owda at the start of his trial Tuesday in Riyadh, a year after his arrest, media said.<\/p>\n
Awda faces 37 charges, the pro-government Okaz newspaper and other media close to the Saudi government reported, without offering any details.
\nAwda was among more than 20 people arrested in September 2017 in a widening crackdown on dissent in the ultra-conservative kingdom.<\/p>\n
There was no immediate statement by the public prosecutor’s office.
\n“Reports that Saudi prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against prominent Saudi cleric Salman al-Awda,” tweeted Adam Coogle, Middle East researcher at Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n
“Bringing the death penalty into a case like this is a major escalation in the level of repression.”<\/p>\n
Awda was hospitalised in the western city of Jeddah after almost five months in solitary confinement, Amnesty International said in January, citing family members.<\/p>\n
The rights group said his family had been denied any contact with him.
\nAmnesty said Awda was arrested a few hours after posting a tweet welcoming reports of a possible reconciliation between Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Qatar.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia and its allies cut off all diplomatic and economic ties with the emirate in June accusing it of links to Islamic extremists, a charge Doha has categorically denied.<\/p>\n
According to his family, the Saudi authorities had demanded that Awda and other prominent figures publicly back the kingdom in the dispute but he refused.<\/p>\n
Saudi activists have said Awda’s brother Khaled has also been detained for disclosing the cleric’s arrest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"