Sadeq Mallallah

Who was Sadeq Mallallah?

Born in Qatif in 1970, Sadeq Abdul Kareem Malallah was a Saudi Arabian, who was charged with blasphemy and apostasy while in prison, and executed for the latter crimes in 1992.

The Washington Post reported the execution, in an article by Carlyle Murphy on 1 October 1992. It was reported that he had been executed in Qateef on 3 September 1992, after having been convicted of throwing stones at a police car in 1988 and imprisoned for five years in Mababeth prison. During his imprisonment, he faced further charges that he had "insulted God, the holy Quran and Muhammad the prophet."

He is alleged to have said that Muhammad was "a liar and swindler" and that the prophet had practised witchcraft and consorted with demons.

Before his execution, he had appealed to two appeal courts, which upheld his conviction, as did King Fahd.

Because a Qatif judge alleged that he had smuggled a Bible into the country, his case is often misrepresented in the blogosphere as having been "executed for owning a Bible".