Saudi Arabia teenager faces imminent execution for attending protests

A teenager who was arrested when he was 15 years old for attending a protest could be executed in Saudi Arabia in the next few days.

Abdullah al-Zaher, who is now 19, is the youngest in a group of offenders on death row as part of a crackdown on political dissent in the country.

Charities Reprieve and Amnesty International have previously said that there were credible reports that Abdullah's confession was obtained under torture.

Saudi security officials are alleged to have beaten him with wire iron rods and denied him access to his family or a lawyer.

It is thought he could be executed along with 51 other people.

The 19-year-old participated in protests in Qatif, a Shia-dominated province in eastern Saudi Arabia and was charged with harbouring protesters, participating in demonstrations and chanting slogans, setting fire to a car and throwing Molotov cocktails.

Abdullah was sentenced to death in October 2014 by a specialised criminal court in Riyadh that is used in counter-terrorism cases.

He has since been moved to solitary confinement in Asir prison.

According to Amnesty International, Saudi Arabia is among the top three countries carrying out the most executions, surpassed only by China and Iran.

Between January and June 2015, 102 people were reported to have been executed.