Jeremy Corbyn used his speech at the Labour party conference to call on David Cameron to intervene in the potential beheading and crucifixion of 21-year-old Ali Mohammed al-Nimr in Saudi Arabia.
According to Amnesty International, Nimr was sentenced to death last year after confessing to offences that took place when he was 17 years old. They included demonstrating against the government, attacking the security forces, and armed robbery. Amnesty International claims that his confession was only extracted under torture.
He is the nephew of a prominent Shiite cleric called Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, who was himself sentenced to death by crucifixion last year on charges including "insulting the King" and delivering religious sermons that "disrupt national unity".
To cheers from the audience, Corbyn added: "While you're at it, terminate that bid made by the Ministry of Justice to provide prison services for Saudi Arabia – which would be required to carry out the sentence that would be put down on Mohammed Ali al-Nimr."
Corbyn was referring to the controversial £5.9 million contract to advise the Saudi Arabian prison system on training needs delivered through Just Solutions International (JSI), the commercial arm of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ). It has been described by the Financial Times columnist David Allen Green as an "ugly mess".
The contract proposal was made under the last justice minister, Chris Grayling. JSI was supposed to be a trading arm under which the National Offender Management Service (NOMS) could trade its expertise around the world, but Grayling's successor, Michael Gove, has announced that JSI is to be wound up. He is said to be firmly against the idea of Britain trading with regimes that are, in his eyes, despotic.
However, it appears JSI's deal with the Saudi government is going ahead. BuzzFeed News understands that Gove wanted to scrap the contract but is being hamstrung by other government departments.