In August 2025, Saudi Arabia put Jalal al-Labbad, a 30-year-old man who had been accused of crimes he allegedly committed when he was 15, to death. This was despite the kingdom’s 2018 law banning the death penalty for minors and is a direct contravention of international human rights norms such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Human rights bodies such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have denounced this action as a naked disrespect for law and justice. Saudi authorities maintain that this action is indicative of their emphasis on national security, but it is a demonstration of the application of state power to suppress opposition.
With Saudi Arabia now set to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup, the world has a moral dilemma: can sport be ethical if it rewards a regime that executes children, cracks down on free speech, and systematically abuses human rights? The recent death sentence and execution of Jalal al-Labbad make it impossible to turn a blind eye to the human cost of this decision.
Saudi Arabia’s Systemic Use of the Death Penalty
Jalal al-Labbad’s execution is especially significant because it shows the kingdom was willing to execute individuals for crimes they were accused of as children, a policy that international law strictly prohibits. Saudi Arabia is among the top countries with the highest execution rates globally.
- In 2024, Saudi Arabia executed at least 309 individuals
- At least 260 persons have been put to death in 2025 alone, as reported by Reprieve, which is a London-based human rights watchdog organization.
- Most of these executions are politically charged and aim at dissidents, Shia minorities, and those accused of taking part in peaceful protests.
- For example, in a mass execution in March 2022, out of 81 men executed, 41 belonged to the Shia minority.
There are reports that Jalal was taken into custody in 2017 without a warrant, incarcerated in Dammam Central Prison, and tortured, including being electrocuted, choked, and beaten. His cell was kept freezing with incessant lighting to deny him sleep. He was compelled to sign a pre-prepared confession; a practice the United Nations has universally denounced.
Despite such abuses and international appeals for mercy, Saudi officials went ahead with his execution. This incident serves to underscore the larger trend of systemic judicial abuse within the kingdom, where proceedings frequently do not meet international norms of fairness and transparency.
Executing Minors and Silencing Dissent
The execution of criminals who were minors is a most heinous human rights violation. Jalal al-Labbad’s case is the first child defendant ever to be executed by the Saudi regime since June 2021, a chilling policy return to one that disobeys both international and local law.
This execution is a policy within the larger scheme of preventing dissent. By executing activists and protesters, even those under 18. The Saudi government enforces a climate of fear designed to silence critics. Reprieve’s Middle East death penalty unit chief Jeed Basyouni explained:
“The punishment for opposition is death, regardless of the age of the person criticizing the regime, 15 or 50 years old.” Those words highlight the kingdom’s disregard for basic human rights and explain why international bodies such as FIFA need to rethink validating Saudi Arabia through the World Cup.
Mega-Events as a Tool of Sportswashing
Saudi Arabia has increasingly employed high-profile sporting events as a tool of “sportswashing,” using international attention to divert from human rights abuses in the country. Holding the 2034 FIFA World Cup follows this trend. While the kingdom boasts world-class stadiums and infrastructure, reports have found migrant workers building these stadiums endure unsafe conditions, wage theft, and no legal recourse. From Human Rights Watch, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, and Nepal, workers have thousands of them injured and killed as a result of unsafe workplaces.
The employment of mega-events to bury repression renders Jalal al-Labbad’s execution all the more salient. While FIFA supporters get to enjoy the show of the tournament, the kingdom keeps executing dissidents, including children, and stifling civil rights. This dissonance between the country’s global image and the lived experience of its populace poses serious ethical questions regarding the hosting of the World Cup there.
Violations of International Law
Saudi Arabia’s execution of children openly disobeys the Convention of the Rights of the Child, which excludes the use of the death penalty for offenses under 18 years. The kingdom has been denounced repeatedly by international groups such as Amnesty International, the United Nations, and Human Rights Watch for these violations. In the case of Jalal al-Labbad, the execution occurred even though there was conclusive evidence that he had been tortured and forced to sign confessions.
In addition to carrying out executions, Saudi Arabia further offends other international norms of fair trial and due process. United Nations reports state that trials against political dissidents commonly depend on secret evidence and coerced confessions. The state’s Anti-Terrorism Crimes and Financing Law is also used regularly to criminalize peaceful protest, dissent, or involvement in civil society, further eroding the legitimacy of the judiciary.
The Broader Human Cost
The Saudi human toll goes beyond executed minors and political opponents. Migrant workers constructing the 2034 World Cup infrastructure are subjected to exploitation at its worst.
- They dwell in congested living conditions, endure inordinate working hours in sweltering heat, and receive restricted access to healthcare.
- Over 1,000 workers lost their lives in the last decade while working on projects related to international events and infrastructure construction within the kingdom, according to reports.
Jalal al-Labbad’s case serves to frame the larger context of systemic abuse. That the Saudi regime would execute minors and dissidents demonstrates a regime that values control over human life. To award the World Cup to such an environment is to risk normalizing such abuses and sending a message to the global community that human rights abuses can be ignored in exchange for prestige and economic returns.
The Imperative to Boycott
Jalal al-Labbad’s execution is not an isolated event. It is symptomatic of a larger system in Saudi Arabia that is defined by repression, torture, executions of children, and the silencing of dissent. Bidding to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup gives credence to a regime that disobeys international law and places political domination above human life.
International fans, sponsors, and football institutions have to acknowledge the moral stakes. Sports need to bring people together, not serve as a podium to reward regimes that engage in systematic abuses.
By boycotting Saudi 2034, the global community can deliver a strong message that human rights, justice, and human dignity come before prestige, money, and spectacle. Jalal al-Labbad’s untimely death cannot be forgotten, and it is a grim reminder that the world cannot divorce sport from morality.