Executions may ignite Saudi Arabian ‘maelstrom’
International condemnation follows deaths of dozens of prisoners, including Shiite cleric
BEIRUT— Protesters stormed and torched the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Tehran on Saturday after the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric ignited sectarian tensions across the already inflamed region, jeopardizing diplomatic efforts aimed at tamping down conflicts in the Middle East.
The unrest erupted after Saudi authorities announced that Sheik Nimr Baqr al-Nimr was among 47 people put to death. Some were killed by firing squad, others by beheading, a statement from Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said. Most were Sunnis accused of participating in Al Qaeda attacks in the kingdom.
47 The number of prisoners executed by Saudi Arabia on Saturday
2 Non-Saudis killed. One was Chadian, one Egyptian
157 The number, at least, of executions carried out in Saudi Arabia in 2015
Nimr, however, was one of four Shiites put to death for political activism and the leading figure in the antigovernment demonstrations that swept the mostly Shiite east of the country in 2011.
The anti-government demonstrations were inspired by the Arab Spring protests in the region.
The executions took place in the capital, Riyadh, and 12 other cities and towns. Of those executed, 45 were Saudi citizens, one was from Chad and another was from Egypt.
In announcing the verdicts, Saudi state television showed mug shots of those executed. Nimr was No. 46, expressionless with a grey beard, his head covered with the red-and-white scarf traditionally worn by men in the Arab Gulf region.
Nimr, who was in his 50s, never denied the political charges against him, but maintained he never carried weapons or called for violence.
The death sentence was carried out despite international appeals for clemency and repeated warnings from the kingdom’s arch-enemy in the region, Iran, that there would be consequences if the popular cleric were killed.
“This sends a message of resolve and firmness in Saudi Arabia’s policy of confrontation with its two enemies, mainly Al Qaeda and Iran,” Ibrahim Fraihat, senior foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, said. “It will also increase tensions inside Saudi Arabia because it gives the Shiite community new grievances and symbols to rally around within the country.”
The U.S. State Department, which had refrained from publicly joining the appeals for Nimr’s life, said it had raised concerns at the highest levels of the Saudi government about the judicial process. It called on Saudi Arabia “to respect and protect human rights” and to permit “peaceful expression of dissent.”
“We are particularly concerned that the execution of prominent Shia cleric and political activist Nimr alNimr risks exacerbating sectarian tensions at a time when they urgently need to be reduced,” the State De- partment said. “In this context, we reiterate the need for leaders throughout the region to redouble efforts aimed at de-escalating regional tensions.”
U.S.-based Human Rights Watch’s Middle East director Sarah Leah said “regardless of the crimes allegedly committed, executing prisoners in mass only further stains Saudi Arabia’s troubling human rights record.” She said Nimr was convicted in an “unfair” trial and that his execution “is only adding to the existing sectarian discord and unrest.”
Shiites around the world expressed outrage, potentially complicating a surge of U.S. diplomacy aimed at bringing peace to the troubled region, according to Toby Matthiesen, an expert on Saudi Arabia at the University of Oxford. “Nimr had become a household name amongst Shiite Muslims around the world. Many had thought his execution would be a red line and would further inflame sectarian tensions,” Matthiesen said. “So this will complicate a whole range of issues, from the Syrian crisis to Yemen.”
Iranian politicians warned that the Saudi monarchy would pay a heavy price for the death of Nimr. The Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the Saudi envoy in Tehran to protest, and parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said the execution would prompt “a maelstrom” in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia reciprocated by calling in the Iranian ambassador in Riyadh to protest the “hostile” remarks made by Iranian officials.
Saudi Arabia and Iran back rival sides in Syria’s war, and their enmity risks derailing a diplomatic effort led by the United States and Russia to convene peace talks between the factions in Geneva this month.
Angry demonstrations were held in several Iranian cities, including Tehran, where protesters broke into the Saudi Embassy, ransacked it and set it ablaze. Video posted on Twitter showed crowds smashing windows with crowbars and overturning furniture. Demonstrators also torched the Iranian consulate in Mashhad.
The execution also triggered renewed unrest in both Saudi Arabia and neighbouring Bahrain, after years of calm following the suppression of the demonstrations in 2011.
The Nimr family issued a statement expressing shock and dismay at the execution, and urging “restraint and self-control” among Nimr’s followers.
The cleric’s brother, Mohammed al-Nimr, pledged on his Twitter account that the democracy movement would endure. “Wrong, misled and mistaken [are] those who think that the killing will keep us from our rightful demands,” he tweeted after the execution was announced.
In Iraq, there was an outpouring of anger from Shiite leaders and politicians, with the influential cleric Moqtada al-Sadr calling on Shiites in Iraq and across the region to protest against the execution.
Saudi Arabia carried out at least 157 executions in the past year, a record number human rights groups said. With files from Star wire services