Alkarama firmly condemns the execution of Saudi journalist and activist Turki Al-Jasser by the Saudi authorities, approximately seven years after his arrest and enforced disappearance on charges related to the exercise of his right to freedom of expression and opinion. Alkarama has submitted the case to the relevant United Nations mechanisms, including the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, calling for the condemnation of this flagrant violation of the right to life, amid a broader escalation of politically motivated executions in Saudi Arabia.
On Saturday, 14 June 2025, the Saudi Ministry of Interior announced in an official statement that Turki Al-Jasser had been executed for alleged crimes including treason, collaboration with foreign entities, financing terrorism, and endangering national security. These charges have been described by human rights sources as vague and politically motivated, serving as a pretext for retaliating against Al-Jasser’s peaceful opposition and his criticism of royal family corruption through his anonymous account “Kashkool” on the platform X (formerly Twitter).
Rachid Mesli, lawyer and Director of Alkarama, emphasized that this execution exemplifies the ongoing pattern of systematic repression carried out by Saudi authorities against independent and dissenting voices, in a context marked by a lack of transparency and the instrumentalization of the judiciary as a tool of repression rather than protection.
“These practices — including arbitrary detention, torture, unfair trials and execution — constitute a systematic breach of Saudi Arabia’s international obligations and call for international accountability, the cessation of these violations, and the restoration of fundamental freedoms and the rule of law,” he added.
Arbitrary Arrest and Unfair Trial
Turki Al-Jasser, in his late forties, was arrested on 15 March 2018, during a raid by Saudi security forces, during which his electronic devices and personal belongings were confiscated. He was subsequently subjected to enforced disappearance until 29 December 2019, when he was allowed a single phone call to his family — after which he disappeared again. A second call was permitted in 2021, with no further developments.
In its statement, the Saudi Ministry of Interior declared: "Turki bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al-Jasser — a Saudi national — committed several terrorist offenses, including high treason through espionage and conspiracy against the Kingdom's security with foreign actors, as well as receiving funds to finance terrorist activities, thereby endangering internal security, national unity, and state stability."
It further stated: "The investigation substantiated the charges, and after referral to the competent court, a final verdict ordering his execution was issued. The judgment was upheld on appeal and confirmed by the Supreme Court, and a royal decree was issued for its enforcement. The execution by Ta’zir (discretionary punishment) was carried out on Saturday, 14 June 2025 (18 Dhul Hijja 1446), in the Riyadh region."
This execution provoked widespread shock among Saudi human rights defenders, who see it as a symbol of the regime’s relentless repression of dissent. They denounce the egregious lack of procedural guarantees in the case — including arbitrary detention without a public trial for seven years, torture, ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, and the absence of effective legal representation.
Echoes of the Khashoggi Case
The case has also reignited memories of the assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, as highlighted by Carlos Martinez de la Serna, Program Director at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). He stated that the enduring impunity for Khashoggi’s 2018 murder in Istanbul continues to enable the persecution of journalists in Saudi Arabia. He affirmed: "The international community’s failure to secure justice for Jamal Khashoggi was not only a betrayal of one journalist, but has also emboldened Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Kingdom’s de facto ruler, to persist in his oppression of the press."
Alkarama reiterates its strongest condemnation of the execution of Mr. Turki Al-Jasser, which it considers a particularly serious violation of peremptory norms of international human rights law, particularly the right to life and freedom of expression, as enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Saudi Arabia is a State Party.
Alkarama further underscores that the deliberate targeting of journalists for their opinions or professional activities constitutes a blatant violation of Article 19 of the Covenant, which guarantees every individual the inalienable right to freedom of expression — including the freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers and through any medium.