Article from Reason by Joe Setyon.

A Shiite woman and four other activists will be executed if a Saudi prosecutor gets his way.

Israa al-Ghomgham and her husband were taken into custody in December 2015 for protesting anti-Shiite discrimination in Saudia Arabia’s Qatif province. Earlier this month, at a hearing before the country’s special terrorism tribunal, a prosecutor recommended that the couple and several like-minded activists be executed. Accordingto Human Rights Watch (HRW), six activists were charged in total, though only five face the death penalty.

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A judge will hear their case on October 28, then determine whether or not to move forward with the death penalty. Depending on the judge’s decision, al-Ghomgham could become the first female activist to be executed in the country.

Saudi Arabia has recently implemented some limited liberal reforms. Most notably, women are now allowed to drive and to work outside the home. But as Reuters notes, there has also been a renewed crackdown on free speech, and particularly on dissent against the government.

Read the entire article at Reason.