The family of a young man sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia after being arrested at the age of 15 has written to Argentina and Paris Saint-Germain striker Lionel Messi, the country’s new tourism ambassador, pleading with him to intervene in the case.
Mohammed al Faraj was arrested in 2017 for alleged crimes against the Saudi government, and prosecutors have requested the death penalty, despite his family’s claims that he was tortured into a confession.
The decision to contact Messi, who was named Saudi Arabia’s tourism ambassador in May, is yet another sign that the country’s efforts to use sport to improve its image may be backfiring.
“We respectfully ask for your attention and for the opportunity to raise the plight of our beloved Mohammed, who was taken from us when he was just a child. As Saudi Arabia’s tourism ambassador, you have a position of great influence. Will you use it to save the life of a young man?”
the letter states, per The Times.
Mohammed, who was out bowling with friends when he was arrested, was taken to an adult prison, where he was interrogated and tortured, according to his family.
He is accused of crimes related to his participation in protests. The court has yet to rule, but the prosecutor has requested “the highest possible discretionary punishment,” according to the letter.
“Prison guards beat and kicked him, and shackled his arms above his head for hours at a time. How can they treat a child in this heartless and brutal way?”
it adds.
Earlier, Formula One star Lewis Hamilton also spoke out this year after receiving a letter from Abdullah al-Howaiti, who was arrested at the age of 14 and sentenced to death at the age of 17.
Reprieve, a human rights organisation, is working with the family and claims that Saudi Arabia is using sport to clean up its image. Its director, Maya Foa, said:
“Saudi Arabia’s rulers are investing aggressively in sport at a time when they are on track to execute more people in a calendar year than ever before.
“By speaking up for human rights while he was there, Lewis Hamilton showed it doesn’t have to be that way.”
“Mohammed bin Salman [the Saudi Crown Prince] wants to be mentioned in the same breath as elite athletes and the global brands that sponsor sport, not the children his regime tortures and sentences to death or the pro-democracy protesters it executes for ‘disobedience to the ruler’.
We mustn’t let sport distract us from the blood-stained record of this Saudi regime.”
