A teenager who has been held in a Saudi prison for more than four years faces execution by beheading, dismemberment and crucifixion for crimes he allegedly committed when he was 10.

Arrested at 13, Murtaja Qureiris, now 18, is alleged to have taken part in political demonstrations calling for greater representation of Shia Muslims in Saudi Arabia. In the repressive monarchical state, protesting, in any form, is seen as an act of violence and often categorised by the justice system as an act of terrorism.

The prosecutor has recommended Mr Qureiris face the most serious of punishments for his alleged crimes.

“There are few more serious breaches of international law than the execution of a child,” said Maya Foa, director of Reprieve, one of the human rights watch groups following Mr Qureiris’ case. She said by trying to execute Mr Qureiris, the regime is demonstrating its absolute “impunity” to the global community.

In an exclusive video obtained by CNN, a young Mr Qureiris can be seen leading a group of Shia protesters on a group bike ride in the moments before an anti-government protest in Saudi Arabia.

The group was calling for more rights for Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority. It was one of the many expressions of political dissent by Shia Muslims across Saudi Arabia during the Arab Spring.

The protests, beginning in 2011, were part of a larger movement across the Middle East and North Africa, with uprisings taking place in Saudi Arabia.

It took four years for the Government to formally lay charges against the teen in August 2018.

The charges are for offences dating back three years before his arrest when he was 10 years old and allege he engaged in anti-government protests, was in possession of a firearm and had joined a terrorist organisation. The Government has recommended Mr Qureiris, now 18, be executed for his alleged crimes.

After he is killed, the prosecutor in his case has recommended his body be dismembered, or crucified, as his crimes, which included the “sowing of sedition” allow for the cruellest of punishments.

Mr Qureiris’s family have a history of political activism, according to CNN, and in a video they identify a man in a keffiyeh, or red and white headdress, as Mr Qureiris’s father.

When Mr Qureiris was just 11, his brother was killed at a political rally. At the funeral, the Government claims the event turned into an anti-royal family march.

Saudi activists maintain the funeral remained peaceful.

The Government would later use this as part of their claims against Qureiris.

EXCLUSIVE: Saudi teen, Murtaja Qureiris, was arrested at 13 for protest-related offenses. Including walking at his brother's funeral. Today he faces the death penalty. by myself, @muhammadakd @mark_oliver_ Byron Manley and @ghazibalkiz https://t.co/p1Sh6UtYDB pic.twitter.com/RJmxzcTINH — Tamara Qiblawi (@tamaraqiblawi) June 7, 2019

Exclusive: When Murtaja Qureiris was 10, he led protests demanding rights for Saudi Arabia’s Shia minority. Now, at the age of 18, he faces the death penalty. https://t.co/9Bn1FAW5o1 pic.twitter.com/TMvF7WkGwq — CNN International (@cnni) June 7, 2019

Mr Qureiris was arrested while travelling with his family to Bahrain, according to CNN. He was detained at the border by Saudi authorities. He was considered, at the time, to be the youngest known political prisoner.

According to CNN, the prosecution’s case relies on confessions, which were extracted under duress and Mr Qureiris is now denying.

Mr Qureiris, a Shia, is a member of a long marginalised community in Saudi Arabia, but as Mohammad bin Salman Al Saud ascended to power, crackdowns and mass executions have become more common.

In January 2016, the country executed 47 men for alleged terrorism offences.

Earlier this year, in April, a Saudi-run news agency reported 37 men had been executed for “their adoption of extremist, terrorist ideology and forming terrorist cells to corrupt and disturb security, spread chaos and cause sectarian discord”. Of the 37 executed, 33 of them where Shia Muslims, according to The New York Times.

Three of those executed were killed for crimes committed as minors, according to CNN.

Executions are not uncommon in the country — last year 139 people were put to death — and the most common method is beheading. Death usually comes for prisoners after years of imprisonment and a sham trial. But according to multiple reports, the killing of Mr Qureiris, who was a child when he was arrested, would be unusual.

“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,” said Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East research director.

It remains illegal for Mr Qureiris, his lawyer, or his family, to speak to foreign journalists, and the details of his case are not public.

The Saudi government has not yet commented on the case.