Originally, in March 2012, he was questioned by Saudi police and asked to be an informant and report details about fellow protesters.
After he refused, Saudi security forces arrested him from the Dammam Central Hospital, where he was undergoing treatment for an eye injury sustained in a traffic accident.
He was one of three minors (along with Ali al-Nimr and Abdullah al-Zaher, 16 and 17, respectively) arrested for offences committed while participating in anti-government protests in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province in 2012.
[3] After the death penalty for crimes committed by minors was revoked by royal decree in 2020,[4] in August that same year, the public prosecutor ordered a review of Dawoud, Ali and Abdullah's sentences.
[3][5] Finally, in February 2021, the Saudi Arabian Specialized Criminal Court commuted the death sentence of Dawoud, Ali and Abdullah and re-sentenced them to 10-year prison terms inclusive of time served, meaning that they could be released in 2022.