Thursday, October 16, 2014

Saudi Shia leader sentenced to death for role in anti-govt protests...

Sheik Nimr al-Nimr, a figurehead of the Shia minority protests that have rumbled in Saudi Arabia since 2011, was sentenced to death on Wednesday, his brother announced on Twitter.

Mohammed al-Nimr said his brother was found guilty by a Riyadh court of “encouraging foreign meddling” from Iran, and disobeying the government with armed resistance. The verdict was the conclusion of a trial that began in March 2013, according to news agencies.

Al-Nimr and his family have claimed that the influential cleric espouses a "peaceful and non-violent approach," and have called the verdict “political.”

“The death sentence will shock everyone here and it will reduce very much the credibility of the state among Shiites. I think the government is giving a show of strength against anyone who thinks of opposition,” Tawfiq al-Seif, a community leader in Qatif – the eastern heartland of the protests that were sparked by the Arab Spring over three years ago – told Reuters. Full story...

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