KSA Executes Sheikh Al-Nimr!
Local Editor
Saudi Arabia on Saturday executed 47 people, including the prominent Shiite cleric, Ayatollah Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.
The ministry statement, published on the official SPA news agency, announced that the 47 had been convicted of adopting the "takfiri" ideology, joining "terrorist organizations" and implementing various "criminal plots".
Nimr, along with six others, were accused of orchestrating anti-government protests between 2011 and 2013 in which 20 people died. Earlier this year, the kingdom's Supreme Court rejected an appeal against the death sentence passed on the al-Nimr.
But the list does not include Nimr's nephew, Ali al-Nimr, who was 17 when he was arrested following the protehttp://admin.english.alahednews.com.lb/sitemod/essayadd.phpsts.
The Interior Ministry statement began with Koranic verses, justifying the use of execution. Shortly after Saudi Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh appeared on television, hailing the executions as just.
The absolutist monarchy carried out at least 158 executions in 2015, with beheadings reaching their highest level in two decades, according to human rights groups.
Adam Coolge, Middle East researcher for Human Rights Watch, told AP that Saudi Arabia had executed almost twice as many people in 2015 as the year before. The horrific figure is second only to 1995, when the Gulf kingdom executed 192 people.
Saudi Arabia carries out most executions through beheading and often in public, giving rise to comparisons with terrorist groups.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team
Comments
- Related News
