Backlash after Saudi Arabia executes 47 including Shia cleric

There has been fierce criticism of Saudi Arabia after it executed 47 people at prisons around the country including a prominent Shia cleric. Nimr al Nimr was a driving force behind the protests in the east of the Sunni-ruled country during the Arab Spring in 2011. There are fears his death his death may spark fresh unrest among Saudi’s Shia minority and in neighbouring Bahrain. However, the 56-year-old’s brother has called for a “peaceful” response to the news of his execution.

Sheikh Nimr enjoyed high esteem in his community and within Muslim society in general and no doubt there will be reaction.

Nimr al Nimr’s brother, Mohammed al Nimr

The list of those executed did not include al Nimr’s nephew, Ali al Nimr, who was 17 when he was arrested in 2012. Reports he had been sentenced to death sparked global outrage because of his age and the severity of the punishment. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron urging him to intervene. The UK has close ties with Saudi Arabia. Most on the list were detained after a series of attacks by al Qaeda between 2003 and 2006 in which hundreds of people were killed. Four, including al Nimr, were Shias accused of shooting policemen. All but two - an Egyptian and a Chadian- were Saudi nationals. The executions took place in 12 cities in Saudi Arabia, with four prisons using firing squads and the others beheading.