[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----Urgent Action 271/14 - Saudi Arabia: Cleric Sentenced to Death After Flawed Trial

[Rick Halperin]

SAUDI ARABIA:

CLERIC SENTENCED TO DEATH AFTER FLAWED TRIAL  Prominent Saudi Arabian Shi’a 
Muslim cleric Sheikh
Nimr al-Nimr has been sentenced to death on vague charges and after a deeply 
flawed trial. His
conviction must be quashed and he should be released immediately in relation to 
these charges.

View the full Urgent Action, including case information, addresses and sample 
messages, here.

Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal 
Court in Riyadh, the
capital, on 15 October for a list of offences including “disobeying and 
breaking allegiance to the
ruler”, “calling to overthrow the regime”, “calling for demonstrations”, 
“inciting sectarian
strife”, “questioning the integrity of the judiciary”, “meeting with and 
supporting wanted
suspects”, and “interfering in a neighboring state’s affairs” (in reference to 
Bahrain).

Evidence for the charges that Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr was convicted of came from 
religious sermons and
interviews attributed to the cleric. Amnesty International’s review of these 
texts confirms that he
was exercising his right to free expression and was not inciting violence. A 
number of charges,
including disobeying the ruler, should not be offences at all as they 
criminalize the peaceful
exercise of the right to freedom of expression and other human rights. Other 
charges are vague and
have been abused here to punish the exercise of human rights.

The trial that commenced at the Specialized Criminal Court on 25 March 2013 was 
also deeply flawed.
The cleric was denied the most basic needs to prepare for his defense, 
including regular access to
his lawyer and a pen and some paper to respond to the charges. Key eyewitnesses 
were allowed not to
testify in court in violation of Saudi Arabian laws, and his lawyer was not 
informed of the dates of
a number of court hearings.

Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who is the Imam of al-Awamiyya mosque in al-Qatif, eastern 
Saudi Arabia, was
arrested without an arrest warrant on 8 July 2012 when security officers forced 
his car to stop and
shot him when he refused to accompany them. He spent most of his detention in 
solitary confinement
in military hospitals and in al-Ha’ir Prison in Riyadh. He has been paralyzed 
in one leg because of
the incident leading to his arrest and needs urgent medical attention to remove 
a second bullet in
his back.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION  Saudi Arabians in the Kingdom’s predominantly Shi’a 
Eastern Province have
long claimed discrimination and harassment against them by the authorities. 
Inspired in part by
protests that swept the Middle East and North Africa region in 2011, they 
organized demonstrations
to protest at the harassment, arrest, and imprisonment of members of the Shi’a 
community for, among
other things, celebrating Shi’a religious festivals, breaching restrictions on 
building Shi’a
mosques and religious schools, and expressing support to protestors in Bahrain.

View the full Urgent Action here.

Name: Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr (m)
Issues: Death penalty, Freedom of expression, Unfair trial
UA: 271/14 Issue Date: 31 October 2014
Country: Saudi Arabia

Please let us know if you took action so that we can track our impact!

EITHER send a short email to uan at aiusa.org with "UA 271/14" in the subject 
line, and include in the
body of the email the number of letters and/or emails you sent.

OR fill out this short online form to let us know how you took action.

Thank you for taking action! Please check with the AIUSA Urgent Action Office 
if sending appeals
after the below date. If you receive a response from a government official, 
please forward it to us
at uan at aiusa.org or to the Urgent Action Office address below.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please write immediately in English, Arabic or your own language:
  *  Calling on the Saudi Arabian authorities to quash the conviction and death 
sentence of Sheikh
     Nimr Baqir al-Nimr and release him immediately in relation to these 
charges;
  *  Urging them to provide him with adequate medical treatment;
  *  Urging them to establish immediately an official moratorium on all 
executions with a view to
     abolishing the death penalty in Saudi Arabia.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS BEFORE 12 DECEMBER 2014 TO:

King and Prime Minister
King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud
The Custodian of the two Holy Mosques
Office of His Majesty the King
Royal Court, Riyadh
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: (via Ministry of the Interior) 011 966 11 403 3125 (please keep trying) 
Salutation: Your Majesty

And copies to:
President, Human Rights Commission
Bandar Mohammed ‘Abdullah al-Aiban
Human Rights Commission
PO Box 58889, Riyadh 11515
King Fahad Road
Building No.373, Riyadh Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 11 461 2061
Email: hrc at haq-ksa.org



Minister of Justice
His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulkareem Al-Issa
Ministry of Justice
University Street Riyadh 11137
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Fax: 011 966 11 401 1741
011 966 11 402 0311
Salutation: Your Excellency

Also send copies to: Ambassador Adel A. Al-Jubeir, Royal Embassy of Saudi 
Arabia
601 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington DC 20037
Fax: 1 202 944 5983  I  Phone: 1 202 342 3800  I  Email: info at saudiembassy.net


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