[3][4][5] Fourteen of the people executed had been convicted in relation to their participation in the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests in Qatif, mostly on the basis of torture-induced confessions.
[11][12][13][14] The European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR) followed the cases of many of the detainees prior to their execution.
Among these, none of the detainees were allowed access to lawyers during the arrest and investigation stages of their cases, and 21 of them had their confessions extracted under duress and torture.
CNN described the "Qatif 24 case" as involving charges related to the 2011–12 Saudi Arabian protests of the Arab Spring.
[8][15] According to United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet, "at least three of those killed were minors at the time of their sentencing", in violation of international law that prohibits the use of the death penalty against anyone under the age of 18.
[1] Nine among the executees who provided forced confessions and/or were tortured included the following:[1][2] Mujtaba al-Sweikat was a minor at the time of his arrest on 12 August 2012, while trying to fly to the United States to study at Western Michigan University.
[1] According to al-Sweikat's father, who defended him in court, the case against Mujtaba was intended to "create the illusion of a terror cell", which in reality did not exist.