A Saudi Arabian teenager who took part in anti-government protests as a child is facing the death penalty, Amnesty International says, labelling it "appalling" and part of a bid to crack down on political dissent.

Key points: Murtaja Qureiris, now 18, led a children's protest during the Arab Spring movement when he was 10, Amnesty says

Murtaja Qureiris, now 18, led a children's protest during the Arab Spring movement when he was 10, Amnesty says The human rights group says Qureiris has been detained and is accused of committing offences while still a child

The human rights group says Qureiris has been detained and is accused of committing offences while still a child Qureiris denies the charges and says his confessions were obtained under duress, CNN reports

CNN published a report last week detailing Murtaja Qureiris's arrest and prosecutors' request for his execution over offences that included taking part in demonstrations in the nation's Eastern Province during the 2011 Arab Spring movement.

The report featured a video of Qureiris, as a 10-year-old boy, preparing to lead a group of children in a bicycle ride protest.

Three years after the video was shot, CCN reported, Qureiris was detained.

At the time, he was considered by lawyers and activists to be the youngest-known political prisoner in Saudi Arabia, CNN said.

Amnesty International said it had confirmed CNN's report, and detailed Qureiris's treatment since his September 2014 arrest.

It said the teenager, now 18, was held in solitary confinement for a month and subjected to "beatings and intimidation".

"His interrogators promised to release him if he confessed to the charges against him," it said.

"In May 2017 he was moved to al-Mabaheth prison in al-Dammam, an adult prison, even though he was just 16 years old.

Amnesty said Qureiris had been charged with participating in anti-government protests, attending the funeral of his brother Ali Qureiris, who was killed in a protest in 2011, joining a "terrorist organisation", throwing Molotov cocktails at a police station, and firing at security forces, among other offences.

However CNN reported Qureiris denied the charges and his confessions were obtained under duress.

Kingdom using death penalty to punish dissent, Amnesty says

Amnesty International Middle East research director Lynn Maalouf said international law prohibited the death penalty for people under 18, but the Saudi Arabian Government had a "chilling" record carrying out executions regardless.

"The Saudi Arabian authorities have a chilling track record of using the death penalty as a weapon to crush political dissent and punish anti-government protesters — including children — from the country's persecuted Shi'a minority," she said.

In April, she said, Amnesty confirmed the execution of Abdulkareem al-Hawaj, another Shi'a man, who was arrested at age 16 and convicted of offences related to his involvement in anti-government protests.

"There should be no doubt that the Saudi Arabian authorities are ready to go to any length to crack down on dissent against their own citizens, including by resorting to the death penalty for men who were merely boys at the time of their arrest," Ms Maalouf said.

"It is appalling that Murtaja Qureiris is facing execution for offences that include taking part in protests while he was just 10 years old."

CNN reported the age of criminal responsibility in Saudi Arabia was unclear but in 2006 the Committee on the Rights of the Child was told it had been raised to 12.

The kingdom told the United Nations it did not execute prisoners convicted of crimes before the age of responsibility, CNN said.

Amnesty called for the other nations to exert pressure on Saudi Arabia to end executions entirely.

"The international community … has a crucial role — they must take a public stand on these cases and demand that the Saudi authorities end their use of the death penalty once and for all," Ms Maalouf said.