Saudi Arabia seeks death penalty for woman activist, rights group says

Saudi Arabia's public prosecutoris seeking the death penalty against five human rights activistsfrom the kingdom's Eastern Province currently on trial in asecretive terrorism court, groups including Human Rights Watch(HRW) said.

Among the detainees is Israa al-Ghomgham. Saudiactivists said she's the first woman to possibly face the death penalty for rights-related work. Charges against her includeincitement to protest and providing moral support to rioters.

"Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penaltyfor activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accusedof violent behaviour, is monstrous," Sarah Leah Whitson, MiddleEast director at HRW, said in a statement on Wednesday.

ALQST, a London-based Saudi rights group, reported thedecision involving Ghomgham's case earlier this week.

A government communications office did not immediatelyrespond to a request for comment.

Activists said the trial was ongoingand denied socialmedia reports that the detainees had already been executed.

Crackdown on dissent

Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy where public protests and political parties are banned, has enacted some high-profile social and economic reforms in recent years under powerful youngCrown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

They have, however, been accompanied by a crackdown ondissent, with dozens of clerics, intellectuals and activists arrested in the past year, including women who had campaignedfor the right to drive in the deeply conservative Muslim country.

A roundup of senior royals, ministers and businessmen lastNovember on charges of corruption sent shockwaves through thekingdom, stunning allies and foreign investors. Most of thosedetainees were released after reaching undisclosed financialsettlements with the government.

Ghomgham is a prominent ShiaMuslim activist whodocumented mass demonstrations in the Eastern Province startingin 2011. She was arrested from her home in December 2015 along with her husband.

Most of the country's Shiaminority lives in theoil-producing Eastern Province,and some have complained that their religious ceremonies are banned or interfered with bySunni authorities, and that they lack opportunities for work andeducation. The government has denied the charges.

Saudi Arabia has previously executed Shiaactivists onwhat rights groups called politically motivated charges. Itviews protests among Shias in the context of tensions withShiapower and regional rival Iran, which it has accused of fomenting the unrest.

The authorities have carried out security operations againstsuspected Shiamilitants in the Eastern Province, which hasseen unrest and occasional armed attacks for years.