Saudi Arabia Sentences Reformist Shiite Cleric to ‘Crucifixion’

Raising fears of renewed sectarian tensions in the region, Saudi Arabia’s top court has sentenced a charismatic opposition leader to death for speaking out against the kingdom’s ruling family.

Nimr Baqer al-Nimr, a reformist cleric, has repeatedly called for an end to corruption and discrimination against minorities. He has a wide following, particularly among young people in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, home to most of the country’s minority Shiites, who are considered heretics by the Sunni-ruled government.

After being imprisoned for nearly two years, al-Nimr appeared in Riyadh’s Specialized Criminal Court Wednesday with his lawyer and two brothers. Charged with terrorism offences and “breaking allegiance to the king,” the judge upheld the country’s harshest sentence — “crucifixion” — where the decapitated body is publicly displayed. His brothers were reportedly detained after the sentencing.

Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr's brother said he was found guilty of seeking "foreign meddling" in the kingdom, "disobeying" its rulers and taking up arms against the security forces. The cleric was a vocal supporter of the mass anti-government protests that erupted in Eastern Province in 2011...

When Sheikh Nimr, who holds the rank of ayatollah, went on trial in March 2013 prosecutors called for his execution by "crucifixion", a punishment which in Saudi Arabia involves beheading followed by public display of the decapitated body.

Al-Nimr had faced charges that include disobeying the ruler, firing on security forces, sowing discord, undermining national unity and interfering in the affairs of a sisterly nation. A statement by the cleric’s family described the verdict as discretionary, saying the judge had the option of ordering a lighter sentence.

The family said the verdict sets a “dangerous precedent for decades to come.”

Nimr Baqr al-Nimr ... is an independent Shia Sheikh in al-Awamiyah, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. He is popular among youth and critical of the Saudi Arabian government. He claimed that he was beaten by Mabahith when arrested in 2006. In 2009, he criticised Saudi authorities and suggested secession of the Eastern Province if Saudi Shias' rights were not better respected. A warrant for his arrest was issued and 35 people were arrested. During the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, al-Nimr called for protestors to resist police bullets using "the roar of the word" rather than violence, predicted the overthrow of the government if repression continued, and was seen by The Guardian as having "taken the lead in [the] uprising".