A Saudi political prisoner, sentenced to death over his participation in anti-government protests in 2011, launched a hunger strike after he was denied access to a public prosecutor, as his legal options to avoid execution run out.
Saud Al-Faraj, 42, was convicted in June 2021 of participating in protests, running a terrorist cell, and killing police officers, among other charges. He was sentenced to death in October 2022.
However, Faraj has long denied the charges and tried more than once to appeal against his conviction.
The Specialised Criminal Court of Appeal upheld his death sentence in January, and his case is now before the Supreme Court where Faraj faces his last chance to avoid execution through the court system.
Faraj has earlier revealed that he was held in solitary confinement for 630 days and repeatedly tortured for refusing to confess.
The rate of executions in Saudi Arabia has almost doubled since King Salman bin Abdulaziz and his son, Mohammed bin Salman, came to power in 2015.
In the wake of leaked reports of torture and mistreatment, Saudi Arabia imposes a complete blackout on the detention conditions of many detainees.
