Leader’s Representative Raps Saudi Prosecutor’s Death Sentence for Sheikh Nemr

The Leader of the Islamic Ummah and Oppressed People Imam Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s representative in Iran’s central province of Markazi Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri Najafabadi lashed out at Riyadh for issuing a death sentence for the jailed Shiite leader, Sheikh Nemr Baqir al-Nemr.

“The report that a Saudi prosecutor has demanded capital punishment for Sheikh Baqir al-Nemr, an eminent, sympathetic and dedicated cleric, causes any loyal Muslim and any freedom-seeking man to feel regret and anguished,” Dorri Najafabadi said in a statement on Wednesday.

Najafabadi, a former Iranian prosecutor-general, further reiterated that the Saudi prosecutor’s demanded verdict for the execution of Sheikh Nemr is illegal and inhuman.

He further lashed out at Riyadh for clamping down on its own scholars and people, while supporting the usurper Israeli regime.

Since February 2011, Saudi protesters have held demonstrations on an almost regular basis in Eastern Provinces, mainly in the Qatif region and the town of Awamiyah, calling for the release of all political prisoners, freedom of expression and assembly, and an end to widespread discrimination.

However, the demonstrations have turned into protests against the Al Saud regime, especially since November 2011, when Saudi security forces killed five protesters and injured many others.

The Saudi interior ministry issued a statement on March 5, 2011, prohibiting “all forms of demonstrations, marches or protests, and calls for them”.

In June, Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ordered the country’s security forces to go on a state of high alert due to what he called a “turbulent situation” in the region.

According to Human Rights Watch, the Saudi regime “routinely represses expression critical of the government”.