Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Show all posts

Sunday, January 3, 2016

Saudi Arabia breaks off ties with Iran after al-Nimr execution

  • 20 minutes ago

by Leila Mohamed and Biodun Iginla, BBC News,  Riyadh, Saudi Arabia


Iranian protesters hold posters of executed Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr outside Saudi embassy in Tehran, 3 Jan 16Image copyright EPA
Image caption Iranian protesters set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran on Sunday

Saudi Arabia says it has broken off diplomatic ties with Iran, amid a row over the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.
Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir was speaking after demonstrators had stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran.
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr and 46 others were executed on Saturday after being convicted of terror-related offences.
Mr Jubeir said that all Iranian diplomats must leave Saudi Arabia within 48 hours.
Saudi Arabia was recalling its diplomats from Tehran, he said.
Mr Jubeir said Saudi Arabia would not let Iran undermine its security, accusing it of having "distributed weapons and planted terrorist cells in the region".
"Iran's history is full of negative interference and hostility in Arab issues, and it is always accompanied by destruction," he told a news conference.
US state department spokesman John Kirby said: "We will continue to urge leaders across the region to take affirmative steps to calm tensions".
"We believe that diplomatic engagement and direct conversations remain essential," he said.
Media captionSaudi Arabia says it has broken off diplomatic ties with Iran, amid a row over the Saudi execution of a prominent Shia Muslim cleric.
Earlier, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warned that the Sunni Muslim kingdom would face "divine revenge" for the execution - an act which also angered Shia Muslims elsewhere in the Middle East.
Ayatollah Khamenei called Sheikh Nimr a "martyr" who had acted peacefully.
Protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran late on Saturday, setting fire to the building before being driven back by police. The Saudi foreign ministry said none of its diplomats had been harmed in the incident.
Iran is Saudi Arabia's main regional rival - they back opposing sides in the conflicts in Syria and Yemen.
Relations between the countries have been strained over various issues in recent decades, including Iran's nuclear programme and deaths of Iranians at the Hajj pilgrimage in 1987 and again in 2015.

Who was Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr?

A Yemeni protester holds a picture of Sheikh Nimr in 2014Image copyright AFP
Image caption News of Sheikh Nimr's execution prompted an angry response from Shias across the region

  • In his 50s when he was executed, he has been a persistent critic of Saudi Arabia's Sunni royal family
  • Arrested several times over the past decade, alleging he was beaten by Saudi secret police during one detention
  • Met US officials in 2008, Wikileaks revealed, seeking to distance himself from anti-American and pro-Iranian statements
  • Said to have a particularly strong following among Saudi Shia youth
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Figurehead Shia cleric
Most of the 47 people executed by Saudi Arabia were Sunnis convicted of involvement in al-Qaeda-linked terror attacks over the last decade.
Sheikh Nimr was involved in anti-government protests that erupted in Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Arab Spring, up to his arrest in 2012.
The execution sparked new demonstrations in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, where Shia Muslims complain of marginalisation, as well as in Iraq, Bahrain and several other countries.
The top Shia cleric in Iraq, Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani denounced the execution as an "unjust aggression".
The leader of Lebanon's Shia Hezbollah movement, Hassan Nasrallah, launched his sharpest attack yet on the Saudi ruling family on Sunday, accusing them of seeking to ignite a Shia-Sunni civil war across the world.
He said the blood of Sheikh Nimr would "plague the Al Saud [family] until the Day of Resurrection", prompting cries of "Death to the Al Saud!" among an audience watching his address.

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Saturday, January 2, 2016

Germany says Saudi death sentences 'inhumane'

Jan 2, 11:13 AM EST


by Leila Mohamed and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, RIYADH, Saudi Arabia




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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia        

-- The latest developments following Saudi Arabia's execution of 47 people, including a prominent opposition Shiite cleric who had rallied demonstrations in the kingdom (All times local).
7 p.m.
Germany's Foreign Ministry has condemned the mass executions conducted in Saudi Arabia. Germany does not allow the death penalty.
"Our position is clear: the death penalty is an inhumane form of punishment that we reject under all circumstances," the ministry statement said. "Together with its EU partners, Germany is working to abolish and ban the death penalty worldwide."
In addition, the German government's human rights envoy, Christoph Straesser, said on Twitter, "#Stop-deathpenalty - every execution is one too many. Appalled by reports about recent executions in #Saudi."
The Foreign Ministry statement specifically criticized the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, saying it will exacerbate widespread Sunni-Shiite tensions in the Middle East.
"The execution of Nimr al-Nimr strengthens our existing concerns about the growing tensions and the deepening rifts in the region," it said.
---
6 p.m.
Iran's parliament speaker says the execution of prominent Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr will prompt a "maelstrom" in Saudi Arabia.
In comments posted on Iranian state television's website, Ali Larijani said, "Nimr's martyrdom will put Saudi Arabia in a maelstrom. Saudi will not pass through this maelstrom."
---
3 p.m.

An Iran-backed Shiite militia in Iraq has condemned Saudi Arabia's execution of prominent opposition Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr and called on Baghdad to reconsider the re-opening of the Saudi embassy.
In a statement aired on its TV network, Asaib Ahl al-Haq called the execution, which was announced Saturday, a "new crime" carried out by the Saudi royal family.
It called on the Iraqi government to "reconsider the benefit of having a Saudi embassy in Iraq, with a suspicious ambassador and goals."
Saudi Arabia is gearing up to re-open its embassy in Shiite-dominated Iraq for the first time in 25 years. The kingdom closed the embassy in 1990, after Saddam Hussein ordered an invasion of Kuwait.
Al-Nimr, who led anti-government protests by the kingdom's Shiite minority before his arrest in 2012, was among 47 people whose execution was announced by Saudi authorities on Saturday.

2:45 p.m.
An international rights group which works to abolish the death penalty has condemned Saudi Arabia's execution of 47 people, saying two were teenagers when they were detained.
Reprieve says the 47 people whose execution was announced Saturday include four Shiite dissidents.
It says one of the dissidents, Ali al-Ribh, was 18 when he was arrested in 2012, and another, Mohammed al-Shuyokh, was 19.
Both were convicted on charges related to anti-government protests in eastern Saudi Arabia, where the Shiite minority is centered. Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shiite cleric and central figure in those protests, was also among those executed.
Reprieve said in a statement that the Saudi government "is continuing to target those who have called for domestic reform in the kingdom."

2:25 p.m.
Saudi Arabia's top cleric has defended the execution of 47 people, calling it a "mercy to the prisoners" because it would save them from committing more evil acts and prevent chaos.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al Sheikh said in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency that the executions announced Saturday were in line with Islamic law and the need to safeguard the kingdom's security.
Islamic scholars around the world hold vastly different views on the application of the death penalty in Shariah law, with Saudi judges adhering to one of the strictest interpretations.
The 47 who were executed included an al-Qaida ideologue as well as Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent opposition Shiite cleric who had rallied anti-government protests before his arrest in 2012.

2:15 p.m.
The brother of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent opposition leader who was among 47 people executed by Saudi Arabia, says he is shocked by the move.
Mohammed al-Nimr told The Associated Press by phone Saturday that the executions came as a "big shock" because "we thought the authorities could adopt a political approach to settle matters without bloodshed."
He says the family has not yet been asked to pick up the body but that a funeral would be held as soon as possible.
The execution of al-Nimr was expected to escalate tensions in eastern Saudi Arabia, where the Shiite minority is concentrated, and Bahrain, which has seen years of simmering unrest between its Shiite majority and Saudi-allied Sunni monarchy.
Mohammed al-Nimr said "there will be reactions" but urged people to "adopt peaceful means when expressing their anger."

2 p.m.
Iran has strongly condemned Saudi Arabia's execution of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent opposition Shiite cleric.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said Saturday that the execution of al-Nimr, "who had no means other than speech to pursue his political and religious objectives, only shows the depth of imprudence and irresponsibility." His statement was carried by state-run Press TV.
Saudi Arabia announced the execution of 47 prisoners on Saturday, including al-Qaida militants convicted of deadly attacks and at least four Shiite dissidents.
Al-Nimr, arrested in 2012, was a central figure in demonstrations by the kingdom's Shiite minority calling for greater rights.
Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shiite Iran are regional rivals, and support opposite sides in the wars in Syria and Yemen.

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Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Anger at execution of top Shia cleric

  • 35 minutes ago

by Leila Mohamed and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Tehran


Media captionProtesters turned out in the Qatif region after news of the execution broke

Saudi Arabia's execution of prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr has sparked anger and protests in Shia communities across the region.
Shia-led Iran, Sunni-led Saudi Arabia's main regional rival, has led the official condemnation of the execution.
Protests have taken place in Saudi Arabia's Shia-majority Eastern Province, and in Bahrain and several other countries.
Sheikh Nimr was a vocal supporter of mass protests in the province in 2011.
He was a prominent, outspoken cleric who articulated the feelings of those in Saudi Arabia's Shia minority who feel marginalised and discriminated against, the BBC's Middle East editor Alan Johnston reports.
He was among 47 people put to death on Saturday after being convicted of terrorism offences.
A protester holds an image of Sheikh Nimr in the Bahraini village of SanabisImage copyright Reuters
Image caption This woman in Bahrain took part in one of the many protests over the execution
Iranian officials have been strident in their condemnation. The foreign ministry said the Sunni kingdom would pay a high price for its action, and it has summoned the Saudi charge d'affaires in Tehran in protest.
The website of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei posted a picture suggesting the execution was comparable to the actions of the so-called Islamic State group.
As the Shia power in the region, Iran takes huge interest in the affairs of Shia minorities in the Middle East, our correspondent reports, making it inevitable that the two countries would clash over Sheikh Nimr's treatment.
But one of the principal concerns of the Saudis is what they see as the growing influence of Iran in places like Syria, Iraq and elsewhere, he adds.
In other regional reaction:
  • Lebanon's Shia council called the execution a "grave mistake" while the Lebanese Shia Hezbollah militant group described the execution as an "assassination"
  • In neighbouring Bahrain, a country with a Shia majority who have complained of marginalisation at the hands of the country's Sunni ruling family, saw clashes between protesters and police.
  • In Iraq, prominent Shia cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for "angry demonstrations", but said protests should be peaceful
  • Protests were also reported on Saturday in Yemen, Pakistan and Indian-administered Kashmir
At least one protest march was held in Qatif, in Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, defying a ban on public protests.
Protesters shouted the slogans "The people want the fall of the regime", and "Down with the al-Saud family", reminiscent of the 2011 protests in the wake of the Arab Spring.
A Kashmiri Shia Muslim man shouts slogans against the execution of Sheikh Nimr, during a protest in SrinagarImage copyright AP
Image caption Shia Muslims in Kashmir joined the wave of protests after the executions
Adel Saad Al-DubaityImage copyright Al Arabiya
Image caption Adel Al-Dubayti, who was convicted over the death of a BBC cameraman, was among those put to death
Sheikh Nimr's arrest in 2012, during which he was shot, triggered days of protests in Eastern Province in which three people were killed.
Saturday's executions were carried out simultaneously in 12 locations across Saudi Arabia. Of the 47 executed, one was a Chadian national while another was Egyptian. The rest were Saudis.
The BBC understands that among those executed was a man convicted of involvement in a gun attack that killed Simon Cumbers, a cameraman on an assignment for the BBC, in 2004.
Adel al-Dubayti was sentenced in November 2014 for his role in multiple al-Qaeda attacks including the attack in the capital Riyadh which also left reporter Frank Gardner critically injured.
The international rights group Reprieve called the executions "appalling", saying at least four of those killed, including Sheikh Nimr, were put to death for offences related to political protest.

Who was Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr?

A Yemeni protester holds a picture of Sheikh Nimr in 2014Image copyright AFP
Image caption News of Sheikh Nimr's execution prompted an angry response from Shia authorities

  • In his 50s when he was executed, he has been a persistent critic of Saudi Arabia's Sunni royal family
  • Arrested several times over the past decade, alleging he was beaten by Saudi secret police during one detention
  • Met US officials in 2008, Wikileaks revealed, seeking to distance himself from anti-American and pro-Iranian statements
  • Said to have a particularly strong following among Saudi Shia youth
Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr: Figurehead Shia cleric
Sheikh Nimr's family said he had been found guilty, among other charges, of seeking "foreign meddling" in the kingdom but his supporters say he advocated only peaceful demonstrations and eschewed all violent opposition to the government.
Saudi authorities deny discriminating against Shia Muslims and blame Iran for stirring up discontent.
Saudi Arabia carried out more than 150 executions last year, the highest figure recorded by human rights groups for 20 years.
A map showing Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province

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