[Deathpenalty] death penalty news----worldwide

[Rick Halperin]

Oct. 29



SAUDI ARABIA:

Death sentence for Saudi Shia cleric 'will spark unrest'


Sectarian tensions will boil over into anger if Sheikh Nimr's death sentence is 
carried out, writes Daniel Wickham.

Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr has been a thorn in the side of the Saudi authorities 
for years.

An outspoken cleric and long-standing critic of the government's discriminatory 
policies towards his minority Shia sect, Nimr is set to be executed after the 
Saudi supreme court upheld a death sentence issued against the sheikh in 
October 2014.

His fate now rests precariously in the hands of King Salman, who has the power 
to commute his sentence if he so chooses.

According to Amnesty International, which has condemned the verdict as 
"appalling", Nimr's charges include "disobeying the ruler", "inciting sectarian 
strife" and "encouraging, leading and participating in demonstrations" against 
the government.

He is also accused of violently resisting arrest by opening fire on security 
forces during a car chase in July 2012, although his brother, Mohammed, 
strongly disputes this.

Mohammed claims that Nimr was driving alone from a farm to his home in Awamiyya 
when security forces began chasing his car, leading to a short pursuit in which 
Nimr was shot in the leg and arrested. Nimr did not own a gun, he says, and is 
often described by analysts as an advocate of non-violence and 
anti-sectarianism.

His message resonated sharply with those who felt marginalised and 
discriminated against by the state

"Nimr was a revolutionary who called for non-violent protests and the downfall 
of the al-Saud, but also for Assad to go," said Toby Matthiesen, the author of 
a book on Shia political movements in Saudi Arabia. "He wasn't sectarian."

In his sermons, Nimr instructed his followers to stand against "oppressors", 
regardless of their sect, denouncing Syria's Alawite dictator Assad as a 
"tyrant" in the same breath as denouncing the Sunni Muslim rulers of the Gulf.

He has also publicly opposed the use of violence against the Saudi state, 
declaring it not permitted to take up arms, and telling interviewers that he 
supported "the roar of the word against authorities rather than weapons".

Once a marginal figure in the Shia clerical scene, Matthiesen says that, by 
2012, Nimr had become "the most popular Saudi Shia cleric among local youth". 
His message resonated sharply with those who felt marginalised and 
discriminated against by the state, particularly in the economically deprived 
village of Awamiyya, which has been the epicentre of anti-government protests 
since 2011.

As the only senior Shia cleric to publicly support the protests, Nimr gained a 
wide following among the movement's sympathisers. According to Frederic Wehrey, 
the author of a book on Shia politics and identity in the Gulf, "many show a 
clear deference to the teaching of Nimr: a rejection of violence, sectarianism, 
and secession".

His core demands, Wehrey writes, are "an end to sectarian discrimination, a 
release of political prisoners, greater representation, and economic 
development of al-Awamiyya". The goals of the protest movement are broadly 
similar, although some activists have rejected Nimr's advice and embraced 
violent tactics against the state.

In total, at least 20 Shia demonstrators and several members of the security 
forces have been killed since the unrest began in early 2011. Protests have 
become much less frequent over the past two years, however, the recent verdict 
of the Supreme Court, upholding Sheikh Nimr's death sentence, did spark fresh 
demonstrations in Awamiyya.

If the sentence is carried out, analysts warn that it could stoke anger and 
sectarian tensions both in Saudi Arabia and beyond.

"His execution would be the starkest humiliation of the whole Shia community," 
says Matthiesen. "There would certainly be some reaction, although many of his 
most loyal followers from his village of Awamiyya have already been killed or 
are in jail. It would, however, pour new oil on the sectarian fires that are 
raging elsewhere in the region."

Ali Adubisi, the director of the European-Saudi Organisation for Human Rights, 
is also worried about the reaction that Sheikh Nimr's execution could bring.

"Our biggest fear is that the response from the authorities to any mass 
protests which result will be violent," he says.

"We still remember what happened when Sheikh Nimr was arrested in July 2012. It 
sparked the biggest demonstration we have seen in the country for years, but it 
was attacked by security forces. Police used excessive force and live 
ammunition, killing two protesters, Sayed Akbar al-Shakouri and Sayed Mohammad 
al-Filfil."

Alongside Nimr, 6 other Shia political dissidents languish on Saudi Arabia's 
death row, including the sheikh's nephew, Ali, who was a minor at the time of 
his alleged crimes.

He claims to have confessed under torture to a host of charges linked to his 
role in anti-government protests.

Matthiesen believes that Saudi Arabia's Western allies, in particular the 
United Kingdom and the United States, should be doing more to pressure the 
kingdom to overturn the death sentences.

"Everyone knows that an execution [of a political prisoner] is not good for the 
stability of the country or the wider region," he says.

Ultimately, however, the fate of these men rests with the Saudi king. The 
choice he makes - between sentencing his political opponents to death and 
letting them live - is certain to shape events in Saudi Arabia and attitudes 
towards the country from outside for some time.

(source: alaraby.co.uk)