Tehran, Jan 2, IRNA – Iran’s Human Rights Council in a statement condemned the execution of prominent Shia cleric Nimr Baqr al-Nimr by the Saudi government.


“If the international human rights bodies had shown serious stance towards the Saudi aggression against Yemen and the Riyadh government’s support for the terrorists groups of the region, we would have not been witnessing this (criminal) act by the Saudi government,” the human rights council’s statement said.

It went to say that despite the Islamic, sympathizing and brotherly recommendations by the regional and world countries concerning Sheikh Nimr, the Saudi government eventually executed this distinguished cleric and religious scholar whose main word was establishment of democracy and attaining the rights of all oppressed people of Saudi Arabia.

“This is while this distinguished scholar has not had a fair trial and unfortunately was sentenced to death in a non-transparent court which was devoid of necessary international standards,” the statement added.

It asked where are those who support the rights of the animals to sympathize with Sheikh Nimr over his execution, for a man who was retrieving the rights of his people based on the charter of the UN.

Nimr was attacked and arrested in the Qatif region of Eastern Province in July 2012, and had been charged with undermining the kingdom’s security, making anti-government speeches, and defending political prisoners. Nimr had denied the accusations.

In October 2014, a Saudi court sentenced Sheikh Nimr to death, provoking huge condemnations and criticism in the Middle East and the world.

On October 25, Nimr’s family confirmed that the Saudi Supreme Court and the Specialized Appeals Court had endorsed a death sentence issued last year against him for inciting sectarian strife and disobeying King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The cleric had denied the charges.

By IRNA