12 July 2017 :

The Saudi authorities have executed four men who were convicted in a secret ‘terrorism’ court – including at least one man who was convicted on charges relating to protests. It marks the first execution coming from the terrorism court since a mass execution in January 2016, in which several protesters convicted at the court were killed.
In an announcement today, the Saudi authorities claimed to have executed four ‘terrorists’ from the country’s Eastern Province.
The executions appear to mark the first execution of prisoners tried at the controversial Specialized Criminal Court since a mass execution in January 2016, which attracted international condemnation.
The SCC is supposed to hear terrorism cases; however, it has also been used to sentence alleged protesters to death, including several juveniles.International human rights organization Reprieve understands that at least one of the men executed today was sentenced to death on charges relating to protests. The man is understood to have been tortured into signing a ‘confession’, which was relied on to convict him at the SCC.