Saudi Arabia ends death penalty for minors

Saudi Arabia's King Salman has ordered an end to the death penalty for crimes committed by minors.

The decision comesin the wake of another order that brought one of the kingdom's most controversial forms of public punishment to a close -- the practice of flogging, replacing it with jail time, fines or community service.

The latest royal decree by King Salman could spare the death penalty for at least six men from the country's minority Shiite community who allegedly committed crimes while under the age of 18, including Ali al-Nimr, who had participated in anti-government protests.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have long called on the kingdom to abolish the use of the death penalty, particularly for crimes committed by minors.

King Salman's son and heir, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, is seen as the force behind the kingdom's loosening of restrictions and its pivot away from ultraconservative interpretations of Islamic law known as Wahhabism, which many in the country still closely adhere to.

The crown prince has sought to modernise the country, attract foreign investment and revamp Saudi Arabia's reputation globally. He's also overseen a parallel crackdown on liberals, women's rights activists, writers, moderate clerics and reformers.

The royal decree orders prosecutors to review cases and drop punishments for those who've already served the maximum 10 years. However, the decree states that terrorism-related cases of minors will be tried differently. It was not immediately clear whether these cases would be bound by the 10-year prison limit.