Nimr Baqr al-Nimr (Arabic: نمر باقر النمر‎ Nimr Bāqr an-Nimr; 1959 – 2 January 2016; also Romanized Bakir al-Nimr, al-Nemr, al-Namr, al-Nimer, al-Nemer, al-Namer), commonly referred to as Sheikh Nimr, was a Shia Sheikh in al-Awamiyah, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. He was popular among youth and critical of the Saudi Arabian government. He called for free elections in Saudi Arabia. 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 2011–12 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".

On 8 July 2012 al-Nimr was shot by police in the leg and arrested, in what police described as an "exchange of gunfire". Thousands of people protested in response in several protests in which two men, Akbar al-Shakhouri and Mohamed al-Felfel, were killed by police bullets. Al-Nimr started a hunger strike and appeared to have been tortured. The Asharq Center for Human Rights expressed concern for al-Nimr's health during his hunger strike on 21 August, calling for international support to allow access by family, lawyer and human rights activists.

On 15 October 2014, al-Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court for "seeking 'foreign meddling' in Saudi Arabia, 'disobeying' its rulers and taking up arms against the security forces" and his brother, Mohammad al-Nimr, was arrested on the same day for tweeting information about the death sentence. Nimr Baqr al-Nimr was executed on or shortly before 2 January 2016, along with 46 others. His execution was condemned by Iran and Shiites throughout the Middle East, as well as by Western figures and Sunnis opposed to sectarianism. The Saudi government did not give his body to his family saying that they already buried all the bodies.

Religious career

Al-Nimr has been a Shia Sheikh in al-Awamiyah since 2008 or earlier.[1] He studied for about ten years in Tehran and also studied in Syria. He initially followed Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussaini Shirazi and as of 2008, followed Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi al-Modarresi.

As of 2008, he was independent of the two main political groups in the Eastern Province Shia community, Islahiyyah (the Shirazis) and Hezbollah Al-Hejaz (Saudi Hezbollah).

Al-Nimr has been the Friday prayers leader in al-Awamiyah since 2009 or earlier.

Points of view

Al-Nimr supported "something between" individual and council forms of guardianship of the Islamic Jurists as a form of government. He supported Kurdish majority control of Iraqi Kurdistan. Al-Nimr believed that Shia ayatollahs would not promote violence and "murder in the name of God". He supported "the idea of elections".

Al-Nimr criticized Bahrain's Sunni monarchy, which brutally suppressed massive pro-democracy Shia-led demonstrations in Bahrain in 2011.

Al-Nimr stated that the United States (US) "wants to humiliate the world." In August 2008, he said that he saw US citizens as a natural ally of Shia as the thinking of both US citizens and Shia is "based on justice and liberty".

He believed that the Saudi state is "particularly reactionary" and that "agitation" is needed to influence the state in general and the Saudi state in particular. According to John Kincannon, Counselor for Public Affairs at the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, Al-Nimr made statements "perceived as supporting Iran". In August 2008, he stated that he believed that Iran and other states outside of Saudi Arabia act mainly out of self-interest, not out of religious solidarity.

Al-Nimr stated that in the case of internal conflict in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Shia would have the right to ask for international intervention in analogy to requests for foreign military intervention by Kuwaitis and Saudis to the US in the 1990–91 Gulf War and people from Darfur during the War in Darfur.

Al-Nimr criticised Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, who was crown prince of Saudi Arabia, following Nayef's death in June 2012. He stated that "people must rejoice at [Nayef's] death" and that "he will be eaten by worms and will suffer the torments of Hell in his grave".

Popularity

Al-Nimr was described by US diplomat Gfoeller as "gaining popularity locally" in 2008. The Guardian described him as "[seeming] to have become the most popular Saudi Shia cleric among local youth" in October 2011. He retained his popularity in 2012, with thousands of people participated in Qatif street demonstrations in his support following his July 2012 arrest.

2004 and 2006 arrests

Al-Nimr was detained for several days in 2004. He was arrested by Mabahith in 2006 and beaten during his detention. Residents of al-Awamiyah campaigned to support him and he was released after several days.

2009 sermon and arrest order

In February 2009, an incident occurred in Medina involving differences in Shia and Sunni customs at the tomb of Muhammad, filming of Shia women by the religious police, protests by Shia in Medina and arrests. Six children were arrested during 4–8 March for taking part in a 27 February protest in Safwa.

Al-Nimr criticised the authorities' February actions in Medina and the Minister of Interior in particular for discrimination against Saudi Arabian Shia. In a sermon, he threatened secession, stating "Our dignity has been pawned away, and if it is not ... restored, we will call for secession. Our dignity is more precious than the unity of this land."

A warrant for his arrest was issued in response. Protests took place in al-Awamiyah starting 19 March. Four people were arrested, including al-Nimr's nephew, 'Ali Ahmad al-Faraj, aged 16, who was arrested on 22 March. The police started tracking al-Nimr in order to arrest him and tried to take his children hostage. By 1 April, a total of 35 people had been arrested and security forces installed checkpoints on roads to al-Awamiyah. As of 1 April 2009, al-Nimr had not been arrested.

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information said that the authorities were "persecuting Shia reformist Nimr Bakir al-Nimr for his criticism of policies of sectarian discrimination against the Shia in Saudi Arabia and for his call for reform and equality."

Protests, arrest and death sentence

In October 2011, during the 2011–2012 Saudi Arabian protests, al-Nimr said that young people protesting in response to the arrests of two al-Awamiyah septuagenarians were provoked by police firing at them with live ammunition. On 4 October, he called for calm, stating, "The [Saudi] authorities depend on bullets ... and killing and imprisonment. We must depend on the roar of the word, on the words of justice". He explained further, "We do not accept [the use of firearms]. This is not our practice. We will lose it. It is not in our favour. This is our approach [use of words]. We welcome those who follow such [an] attitude. Nonetheless, we cannot enforce our methodology on those who want to pursue different approaches [and] do not commit to ours. The weapon of the word is stronger than the power of bullets."

In January 2012, he called on authorities to "stop bloodshed", predicting that the government would be overthrown if it continued its "month-long crackdown" against protestors. He criticised a list of 23 alleged protestors published by the Ministry of Interior. The Guardian described him as having "taken the lead in [the] uprising".

July 2012 arrest and hunger strike

On 8 July 2012 al-Nimr was shot by police in the leg and arrested. According to Ministry of Interior spokesperson Mansour al-Turki, policemen tried to arrest al-Nimr and colleagues who were in a car. Al-Nimr and his colleagues fired live bullets at the policemen, police shot their guns in response, al-Nimr and his colleagues attempted to escape and crashed into a police car. According to al-Nimr's brother Mohammed al-Nimr, Nimr al-Nimr was arrested "while driving from a farm to his house in al-Qatif".

The Saudi Press Agency stated that al-Nimr was charged with "instigating unrest". Mohammed al-Nimr said that his brother "had been wanted by the Interior Ministry for a couple of months because of his political views".

Thousands of people protested in response. Two men, Akbar al-Shakhouri and Mohamed al-Felfel, were killed in the protest. Pictures of al-Nimr "covered with what appeared to be a blood-stained white blanket" were published online by Eastern Province activists. On 16 July, activist Hamza al-Hassan stated that al-Nimr had received a brief visit by his family during which officials stated that the purpose of the visit was to request al-Nimr's family to "calm the angry protestors". According to al-Hassan and Press TV, al-Nimr had been tortured, had bruises on his face and had broken teeth".

On 19 July, al-Nimr's family said that al-Nimr had started a hunger strike. Al-Nimr's family visited him again on 22 July. They stated that he had been badly tortured, with signs of torture on his head, that he was continuing his hunger strike, and that he had weakened.

Al-Nimr's wife, Muna Jabir al-Shariyavi, died in a New York hospital while he was imprisoned. Two thousand people attended the funeral in Safwa on the evening of 30/31 August, called for al-Nimr to be unconditionally freed, for all Shia and Sunni detainees to be freed, and chanted "Down with Hamad", "Bahrain Free Free, Peninsula Shield out".

On 21 August, the Asharq Center for Human Rights expressed concern that al-Nimr was on the 45-th day of his hunger strike while in prison and said that he had not been charged. The Asharq Center appealed for international support for allowing access to al-Nimr by his family, lawyer and human rights activists.

Trial

Amnesty International stated that apart from the charge of firing at security forces on 8 July 2012, the other charges, of "disobeying the ruler", "inciting sectarian strife" and "encouraging, leading and participating in demonstrations" were based on documentary evidence of al-Nimr's sermons and interviews. Amnesty viewed these as representing the right to free speech and that al-Nimr did not incite violence in these. Amnesty stated that witnesses whose testimonies were used during the trial did not testify in court and that al-Nimr's lawyer was not given a fair possibility to defend him.

The European Saudi Society for Human Rights (ESSHR) reported details of five of al-Nimr's court appearances following the 8 July 2012 arrest. According to the ESSHR, 33 charges were laid in the first appearance, on 25 March 2013. On the 29 April 2013 court appearance, the defence was unable to respond to the charges because it did not have the details of the list of charges. On 23 December 2013, al-Nimr's lawyer said that al-Nimr was unable to respond to the charges because he did not have a pen and paper. Al-Nimr's lawyer was informed one day before the fourth appearance, on 15 April 2014. The ESSHR stated that neither al-Nimr's lawyer nor his family were informed prior to the fifth court session, on 22 April 2014.

October 2014 death sentence

On 15 October 2014, al-Nimr was sentenced to death by the Specialized Criminal Court for "seeking 'foreign meddling' in [Saudi Arabia], 'disobeying' its rulers and taking up arms against the security forces". Said Boumedouha of Amnesty International stated that the death sentence was "part of a campaign by the authorities in Saudi Arabia to crush all dissent, including those defending the rights of the Kingdom's Shi'a Muslim community."

Nimr al-Nimr's brother, Mohammad al-Nimr, tweeted information about the death sentence and was arrested on the same day.

The head of Iran’s armed forces warned Saudi Arabia that it would “pay dearly” if it carried out the execution.

2015 appeal and imminent execution

In March 2015 the appeal court of Saudi Arabia upheld the death sentence against Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

On 25 October 2015, the Supreme Court of Saudi Arabia turned down the appeal moved by family of Muslim cleric Sheikh Nimr against death sentence. The brother of Nimr, while discussing with reporter of Reuters disclosed that decision came out as a result of hearing without notice to lawyers and family members of Sheikh Nimr. However, his brother had a hope from King Salman for grant of pardon from sentence of death.

Reactions against the death sentence to Sheikh Nimr

• On Saturday 8 November 2014, there was a demonstration outside Downing Street where Amina Taylor of Press TV (London) conveyed the Britons' request to the head of the UK Government for his intervention on behalf of prominent Saudi Arabian Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr who was handed the death sentence in October 2014.
• Reportedly on 13 November 2014 Muslims of different nationalities including Afghan, Iranian, Indian, Pakistani, Iraqi and Lebanese gathered in an organized protest in front of the United Nations against the death sentence of Sheikh Nimr and raised their voice for the freedom of all political prisoners in Saudi Arabia.
• In March 2015 Nigerian people staged a protest in the city of Kano against the detention and death sentence of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, according to Tasnim News Agency.
• On 13 May 2015 Shia marjas Ja'far Sobhani, Naser Makarem Shirazi, and Hossein Noori Hamedani condemned the death sentence.
• Aware of the imminence of the execution of Sheikh Nimr in May 2015, Shia Muslims all over the world have staged peacful rallies and forwarded their petition to UNO to prevent the death sentence. Protests intensified and people took to the streets in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, India and Iraq. In Iran, the only country with a predominantly Shiite population in the Middle East, clerics and scholars staged a mass sit-in on 13 May in Qom and Mashhad, to show their solidarity with Sheikh Nimr and record their agitation.
• On 17 May 2015 Ahlul Bayt News Agency reported a peaceful protest rally in solidarity with Sheikh al-Nimr staged in Berlin, Germany. Demonstrators demanded that the Saudi Government immediately release Sheikh Nimr and drop all illegal charges against the Shia Saudi cleric. The protesters also condemned the systematic and widespread violations of human rights in Saudi Arabia.
• On December 31, 2015, a group of prominent Sunni clerics of Iran called the United Nations and other international organizations in a letter for heightened efforts to free al-Nimr.

Petitions from NGOs

On 20 November, 2015, besides two volunteers working for human rights and international religious freedom, 15 organisations from different religions and communities functioning for rule of humanity and justice have collectively requested the US Secretary of State to approach and press the King of Saudia Arabia to waive the sentence of death awarded to Sheikh Nimr, Ali al-Nimr, Dawood al-Marhoon and Abdullah al-Zaher.

The signatories of the petition were: Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB); Amnesty International; Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy; Center for Inquiry (CFI); European Center for Democracy & Human Rights (ECDHR); European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights (ESOHR); Freedom House Human Rights Foundation; Human Rights Watch; Hindu American Foundation (HAF), International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF); Monitor of Human Rights in Saudi Arabia (MHRSA); Muslim Public Affairs Council; PEN American Center; Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED); Shia Rights Watch (SRW); Dr. Toby Matthiesen, Senior Research Fellow in International Relations of the Middle East at the University of Oxford; William C. Walsh, lawyer.

Execution

On 2 January 2016, Saudi Arabia's Interior Ministry announced that Nimr had been among 47 people executed.

Reactions to execution

Involved parties

•  Saudi Arabia

• • Sheikh Nimr's brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, said that the pro-democracy movement in Saudi Arabia will only grow up after this execution. He described his brother as "a humble, religious man who lived a simple life, making him attractive to many youths", and that his execution "will spark anger of (Shia) youths", and said he hoped any response would be peaceful.
  • Saudi Arabia summoned the Iranian ambassador in Riyadh over Iran’s "hostile" remarks after the execution.

Supranational bodies

• The UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon voiced his dismay over the execution of Nimr. Statement also reveals that the Secretary-General had raised the case of Sheikh al-Nimr with the leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on a number of occasions.
•  European Union
  • High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini condemned the execution, stating that "The specific case of Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr raises serious concerns regarding freedom of expression and the respect of basic civil and political rights".

States

•  Bahrain
  • Hundreds of people held a protest rally in the capital Manama. Demonstrators carrying pictures of Sheikh Nimr were involved in a clash with police in the Bahraini village of Abu-Saiba.
  • The Bahraini government backed the execution.

•  Iran
  • Supreme Leader Ali Khameni tweeted that "[a]wakening is not suppressible", and compared the Saudi government to the ISIL, also famous for its mass executions. Khamenei's website carried a picture of a Saudi executioner next to notorious Islamic State executioner Jihadi John, with the caption "Any differences?" He warned the Saudi government that they will encounter "divine vengeance" for execution this Shia cleric.
  • The speaker of Iranian parliament Ali Larijani said the execution will prompt a "maelstrom" in Saudi Arabia.
  • Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned Saudi Arabian chargé d'affaires. Foreign Ministry Spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari said the execution of Sheikh Nimr "who had no means other than speech to pursue his political and religious objectives only shows the depth of imprudence and irresponsibility". He said that the Saudi government "supports terrorist movements and extremists, but confronts domestic critics with oppression and execution".
  • Iranian lawmakers asked the Foreign Ministry to downgrade diplomatic ties with the Saudi government.
  • Both high-ranking Shia and Sunni clerics of Iran condemned the execution. Shia marja Naser Makarem Shirazi called it "deeply shocking" and called the Saudi government "the center for spreading sedition and Takfiri ideology". Grand Ayatollah Lotfollah Safi-Golpaygani said the execution "once again showed the criminal nature" of the Al Saud regime and that it paves the way for the regime's fall. Grand Ayatollah Hossein Noori Hamedani urged all Shia and Sunni Muslims to react against the incident. Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, member of the Assembly of Experts and Friday prayer Imam, predicted the fall of Saudi Arabia's ruling family following the execution. Ayatollah Abbas Kaabi, Seyed Mohammad Vaez Mousavi and Ayatollah Hassan Mamdouhi also slammed the executions, underlining that "Saudis has dug its own grave". Ayatollah Hosseini Bushehri the head of Qom Seminary Schools announced that large number of clerics and seminary school students of Qom will close their teachings sessions on Sunday. Sunni clerics including representative of Iran's Sunni-populated Southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan at the Assembly of Experts, Chairman of the Sunni Lawmakers' Fraction at the Iranian parliament Abed Fattahi, Molawi Abdolhamid Ismailzehi (the Friday prayers leader of Iran's Southeastern city of Zahedan) also condemned the execution. Iranian seminaries held a protest rally in front of the Saudi embassy in Tehran and condemned execution of the Shiite cleric by chanting "death to Al Saud".
  • Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution (IRGC) condemned the execution, comparing the attitude and actions to those of ISIL. IRGC said "harsh revenge" would topple "this pro-terrorist, anti-Islamic regime". Saudi Arabia summoned the Iranian ambassador in response.
  • Locals in Tehran gathered outside the Saudi diplomatic mission to protest the execution. Elsewhere, in the Iranian holy city of Qom, dozens of men, some dressed in robes and turbans, marched through the city, holding up pictures of al-Nimr. Reports have emerged of crowds breaking into and setting fires at the Saudi Arabian embassy in Tehran. The Iranian Foreign Ministry has appealed for calm, and to respect diplomatic premises.

•  Iraq
  • Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said the execution would have repercussions on regional security.
  • The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a Shia political party, and several Iraqi Shia MPs condemned the execution.
  • Former Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki said that his countrymen "strongly condemn these detestable sectarian practices" and said that this "crime" will be the downfall of the Saudi government, just as "the crime of executing the martyr al-Sadr did to Saddam".
  • In Iraq, prominent religious and political figures demanded that Iraqi-Saudi ties be severed.
  • Moqtada al-Sadr, a prominent Iraqi Shiite cleric, called for demonstrations to take place in Arab states of the Persian Gulf to protest the execution of al-Nimr.
  • Head of the Badr Organization, Qasim al-Araji, said "it's a big crime that has opened the gates of hell", calling on Baghdad to cut diplomatic ties "immediately".
  • Asaib Ahl al-Haq, another Iran-backed militia group, has accused Saudi Arabia of seeking to provoke Sunni-Shiite strife, adding that "What the use of having a Saudi embassy in Iraq?"
  • Kataib Hezbollah's leader, Abu Mahdi al-Mohandes, described the execution of al-Nimr as "a crime that is added to the criminal record of Al Saud".

•  Lebanon
  • Hezbollah - Hezbollah condemned the killing as an "assassination", describing Sheikh Nimr as a spiritual scholar who always sought dialogue and resisted injustice.
  • Lebanon's Supreme Islamic Shia Council called the execution of al-Nimr "an execution of reason, moderation and dialogue" and a "grave mistake".

•  Pakistan
  • Pakistan’s Muslims Unity Assembly decried the execution as a challenge against millions of Muslims worldwide.

•  Palestine
  • Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) condemned the execution, saying that the Saudi government "insists on pouring oil to the flames of sectarian sedition".

•  United Kingdom
  • Britain’s Shadow Foreign Secretary, Hilary Benn, described the execution as "profoundly wrong", and condemned the act of execution in general.
  • The Liberal Democrats leader, Tim Farron, stated: "I utterly condemn Saudi Arabia for the execution of 47 people including the prominent Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Capital punishment is utterly abhorrent and the prime minister needs to turn round to our ‘ally’ and tell them capital punishment is wrong. Britain must live our values and criticise nations like Saudi Arabia that continue this heinous and barbarous punishment."

•  Yemen
  • Ansarullah movement (the Houthis) described Sheikh Nimr as a "holy warrior" and called the Saudi execution a "flagrant violation of human rights" after a "mock trial".

Others

• Human Rights Watch said the executions "further stains Saudi Arabia’s troubling human rights record". Sarah Leah Whitson, the group's Middle East director, said Nimr was convicted in an unfair trial and that his execution was "only adding to the existing sectarian discord and unrest". adding that "Saudi Arabia’s path to stability in the Eastern Province lies in ending systematic discrimination against Shia citizens, not in executions".

• Amnesty International called Sheikh Nimr's trial political, grossly unfair and the execution was to settle political scores.

Demonstrations

People in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province have taken to the streets with protesters marching from Nimr’s hometown of al-Awamiya to Qatif, chanting, "Down with the Al Saud".