News, views and top stories in your inbox. Don't miss our must-read newsletter Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A woman could be beheaded after organising protests against Saudi Arabia's government in a ruling branded "monstrous".

Israa al-Ghomgham has been provisionally sentenced to death in a case which has outraged human rights groups.

The 29-year-old has been in prison for more than two years, accused of being involved in protests against the highly conservative government.

Among the charges she faced were incitement to disobedience of the ruler in her home city of Qatif, Middle East Eye reports.

She is also accused of incitement to protest and providing moral support to rioters.

But she is not accused of being directly involved in any violence.

If the death sentence goes ahead, it is believed to be the first time the country - which is trying to convince the world it is becoming more liberal - executes a female activist.

Ghomgham was arrested at her home by Saudi security forces in December 2015, along with her husband Moussa al-Hashem.

On August 6 the couple were among six people sentenced to death by a court in capital Riyadh.

The case will be heard again on October 28, when a final decision on the penalty will be reached.

(Image: Daily Mirror)

Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, said: "Any execution is appalling, but seeking the death penalty for activists like Israa al-Ghomgham, who are not even accused of violent behavior, is monstrous."

And Ali Adubisi, director of the European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, told Middle East Eye: “Sentencing a female human rights defender to death is a dangerous precedent in Saudi Arabia.

"It’s largely a revenge against the Arab Spring, and a punishment for Qatif, which witnessed the largest protests since 2011."

A report by the UN earlier this year stated: "Those who peacefully exercise their right to freedom of expression are systematically persecuted in Saudi Arabia.

"Many languish in prison for years. Others have been executed after blatant miscarriages of justice."

Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy where public protests and political parties are banned, is led powerful young Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

Economic reforms have been accompanied by a crackdown on dissent, with dozens of clerics, intellectuals and activists arrested in the past year.

Among these are women who had campaigned for the right to drive in the deeply conservative Muslim country.

Most of the country's Shi'ite minority lives in the oil-producing Eastern Province and some have complained that their religious ceremonies are banned or interfered with by Sunni authorities, and that they lack opportunities for work and education.

The government has denied the charges.

Saudi Arabia has previously executed Shi'ite activists on what rights groups called politically-motivated charges.