Amnesty International says appalling death sentence against Shia cleric must be quashed

Deputy Director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program said that the death sentence against Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr is part of a campaign by the authorities in Saudi Arabia to crush all dissent, including those defending the rights of the Kingdom’s Shia Muslim community.

Sheikh al-Nimr’s brother, Mohammad al-Nimr, was reportedly arrested after the sentence was passed at the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh.

The reasons for Mohammad al-Nimr’s arrest remain unknown – although it is believed he was detained after tweeting about his brother’s death sentence.