Saudi Arabia supreme court upholds death sentence on Shia cleric
Source: Reuters
Saudi Arabia supreme court upholds death sentence on Shia cleric
Reuters in Riyadh
Sunday 25 October 2015 17.16 GMT
Saudi Arabias supreme court has rejected an appeal against the death sentence passed earlier this year on on the Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, who had called for pro-democracy demonstrations and whose arrest in 2012 sparked protests in which three people died.
Nimrs brother Mohammed said the sentence had been upheld after hearings that took place without his lawyers or family members being given prior notice. His fate now rests with King Salman, who is empowered to issue a pardon.
Nimr and six other Saudi Shias, including his nephew Ali, have been sentenced to death and then to have their bodies put on public display in the most severe penalty available to judges in the Sunni majority kingdom.
We dont want anything to happen to him or to Ali or the other young men, Mohammed al-Nimr said. Political analysts who follow Saudi Shia politics have warned that widespread protests may erupt if the executions are carried out.
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http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/25/saudi-arabia-supreme-court-upholds-death-sentence-on-shia-cleric