New Delhi: Abdullah al-Zaher, now 19, is set to be beheaded for attending a protest against the Saudi government when he was just a 15-year-old.
Zaher was arrested in March 2012 and sentenced to death in October last year by the secretive specialised criminal court in Riyadh for protesting in the eastern Shia-dominated province of Saudi Arabia.
He is the youngest person to be given a death sentence in Saudi Arabia at the time of his arrest.
Hassan al-Zaher, the teenager's father, told a leading daily that "he was forced to sign a paper and under the threat of physical punishment, he was unable to read that document".
According to media reports, Zaher was charged with chanting slogans, setting fire to a car and throwing Molotov cocktails allegations that his father denies outright. According to Zaher's father, his son had not thrown Molotov cocktails at the protest.
Zaher's family alleges that he was forced to confess in court and was not allowed to meet his family or consult a lawyer.
The 19-year-old was allegedly beaten up with wire iron rods by security forces in police custody.
"My son doesn't deserve to die just because he participated in a protest rally," Hassan said.
