Germans stage protest against Saudi killing of Nimr

Hundreds of demonstrators have poured onto the streets of the western German city of Essen to voice their outrage at Saudi Arabia’s recent execution of a prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr.

Activists, mostly from Germany’s Muslim community, took part in Saturday’s event to condemn the Al Saud regime’s killing of Sheikh Nimr, holding banners and placards with anti-Riyadh slogans.

The protesters further criticized the German government for remaining silent about Saudi crimes.

The demonstrators also denounced human rights violations in Saudi Arabia, the regime’s military campaign against Yemen and the export of weapons to the kingdom.

A similar rally was held in the German city of Frankfurt on Friday with participants chanting slogans against the ruling Al Saud family.

Saudi Arabia said on January 2 that it had executed Sheikh Nimr along with 46 others, causing international outrage and a serious escalation of tensions in the region.

Many countries such as Iran, the UK, Pakistan, India, Yemen and Bahrain have witnessed massive anti-Saudi rallies over the past few days.

Sheikh Nimr, an outspoken critic of the Riyadh regime, was arrested in 2012 in the Qatif region of Shia-dominated Eastern Province, which was the scene of peaceful anti-regime demonstrations at the time.

He was charged with instigating unrest and undermining the kingdom’s security. He had rejected all the charges as baseless.

In 2014, a Saudi court sentenced the religious figure to death, provoking widespread global condemnations.