Saudi Arabia executes top Shiite cleric, 46 others

Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed a prominent Shiite cleric behind anti-government protests along with 46 other men, the Associated Press reports.

PHOTO: Saudi King Salman

Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed a prominent Shiite cleric behind anti-government protests along with 46 other men, the Associated Press reports.

The execution of Nimr al-Nimr and the others, including Shiite activists and Sunnis accused of involvement in deadly Al-Qaeda attacks, announced by the Saudi interior ministry, drew angry condemnations from Iran and Iraq,

It prompted calls for demonstrations, with the brother of the 56-year-old cleric warning it could stir more trouble in oil-rich Eastern Province where Shiites complain of marginalisation. 

“This action will spark anger of (Shiite) youths” in Saudi Arabia, said Mohammed al-Nimr.

As in Saudi Arabia, the majority of the Nigerian Muslim population is Sunni, there is a significant Shia minority, particularly in the northern states of Kano and Sokoto. They are called Shi’ia or Shi’ite. Members of the Nigerian Shia community have been persecuted in some cases, Cleric Sheikh Ibraheem Zakzaky is a primary figure in the movement.

The Saudi interior ministry said the 47 men had been convicted of adopting the radical “takfiri” ideology, joining “terrorist organisations” and implementing various “criminal plots”.

A list published by the official Saudi Press Agency included Sunni Muslims convicted of involvement in Al-Qaeda attacks that killed Saudi and foreigners in the kingdom in 2003 and 2004.

One of those executed was Fares al-Shuwail, described by Saudi media as Al-Qaeda’s top religious leader in the kingdom. He was arrested in 2004.

Notably absent from the list, however, was Nimr’s nephew, Ali al-Nimr, whose arrest at the age of 17 and alleged torture during detention sparked condemnation from rights watchdogs and the United States.

All those executed were Saudis, except for an Egyptian and a Chadian.

Some were beheaded with a sword while others were executed by firing squad, said interior ministry spokesman Mansur al-Turki.

Executions have soared in the country since King Salman acceded the throne in January 2015, with 153 people, including convicted drug-traffickers, put to death last year, nearly twice as many as in 2014.

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