He was arrested at 13. Now Saudi Arabia wants to execute him

[TomSea]

He was arrested at 13. Now Saudi Arabia wants to execute him

By Muhammad Darwish, Tamara Qiblawi and Ghazi Balkiz, CNN

(CNN) — A group of boys on bicycles gather on a dusty side-street in eastern Saudi Arabia.

Foot on pedal, 10-year-old Murtaja Qureiris is about to lead the group of around 30 children. In video footage obtained by CNN, he is wearing rolled up denim jeans and black flip-flops on his feet, and grinning at the camera recording the event. It may look like a regular bike ride, but the group is staging a protest.

Moments after they set off, Qureiris gets lost in the sea of boys, struggling to keep up as he lifts a megaphone and presses it against his lips. “The people demand human rights!” he shouts.

As a boy, Qureiris participated in demonstrations like this bike ride, expressions of dissent in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province during the 2011 Arab Spring.

See story at: https://www.cnn.com/interactive/2019/06/middleeast/saudi-teen-death-penalty-intl/

Sharp graphics.