Death sentence for Saudi cleric appalling: Amnesty

 
 
    “The death sentence against Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr is part of a campaign by the authorities in Saudi Arabia to crush all dissent, including those defending the rights of the Kingdom’s Shia Muslim community,” said Said Boumedouha, the deputy director for Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program, on Wednesday.
 
Nimr was sentenced to death at the Specialized Criminal Court in the Saudi capital Riyadh earlier in the day. In reaction to the sentence, people took to streets in the city of Qatif to condemn the move.
 
His brother, Mohammad, was arrested after he purportedly tweeted about Nimr‘s sentence.
 
“The shocking death sentence against Sheikh al-Nimr followed by the arrest of his brother in court today illustrate the lengths Saudi Arabia will go to in their quest to stop Shia activists from defending their rights. Sheikh al-Nimr must be released and Saudi Arabia must end its systematic discrimination and harassment of the Shia community,” added Said.
 
Nimr is the Imam of al-Awamiyya mosque in Qatif in Eastern Province and has spent most of his two-year detention in solitary confinement at the al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh, according to Amnesty.
 
Anti-government protests have intensified since November 2011, when security forces opened fire on protestors in Qatif, killing five people and leaving scores more injured.
 
Activists say there are over 30,000 political prisoners in Saudi Arabia.
 
Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Saudi authorities to stop using excessive force against pro-democracy activists.