Saudi Arabia condemned after executing dozens of prisoners

Saudi Arabia said Saturday it had executed 47 people in a single day, including a dissident Shiite cleric, Nimr al-Nimr, who had repeatedly spoken out against the government and the Saudi royal family. Saudi Arabia says it has executed 47 prisoners, i…

In this Saturday, May 30, 2015, photo, Saudis carry a poster…

The simultaneous killings are the biggest mass execution in Saudi Arabia since 63 jihadists were killed at once in 1980 for trying to take over Mecca’s Grand Mosque.

“The Saudi authorities… put them (the Shi’ites executed) together with terrorist bands and groups which had committed crimes against civilians”.

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.

A leading Iranian cleric, Ayatollah Ahmad Khatami, has predicted the repercussions will bring down the Saudi ruling family.

In Iraq, influential Shiite militia Asaib Ahl Al-Haq called on the government to reconsider allowing Saudi Arabia to keep its newly reopened embassy in Baghdad; the Saudi embassy was reopened Friday for the first time in more almost 25 years.

The brother said there was no proof that the cleric or other executed activists were involved in any violence.

‘The crime of executing Sheikh Nimr is part of a criminal pattern by this treacherous family… the Islamic world is expected to cry out and denounce this infamous regime as much as it can, ‘ Khatami added. The UK has close ties with Saudi Arabia.

Last month, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, a Social Democrat (SPD), said Saudi Arabia had a central role in fighting Islamic State and helping to eliminate the militant group’s ideological breeding ground.

Bahrain police fired tear gas at several dozen people protesting against the execution of Sheikh Nimr, a witness said.

His children are studying in the United States with the exception of a teenage daughter, who lives in Saudi Arabia.

Nimr al Nimr was a driving force behind the protests in the east of the Sunni-ruled country during the Arab Spring in 2011.

Al-Nimr’s brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, wrote a series of comments on Twitter after the execution, expressing hope that “we will overcome sectarianism to be in a better position”. A senior Iranian cleric, Hossein Nouri Hamedani, said in a statement broadcast on state television that the region should expect “both Shiite and Sunni Muslims to react”. Al-Nimr, along with six others, were accused of orchestrating anti-government protests between 2011 and 2013 in which 20 people died.

Reprieve said sheikh Nimr, Ali al-Ribh, Mohammad Shioukh and Mohammad Suweimal were all arrested in 2012 following their involvement in anti-government protests.