Protesters worldwide support detained Saudi cleric

Protesters have staged rallies worldwide to condemn the death sentence handed down by a Saudi court to prominent Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr, and voice solidarity with the dissident Saudi religious scholar.

On Tuesday, dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the Saudi embassies and key government buildings in a number of countries, including Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Belgium, Britain, France, Iraq, Sudan and the United States, and denounced the Saudi government for issuing the verdict against Nimr. They also called for the immediate release of the cleric, Arabic-language al-Alam satellite TV network reported.

The demonstrations came on the same day as tens of people staged a similar protest rally in the village of Awamiyah, located 389 kilometers (241 miles) northeast of the Saudi capital, Riyadh, demanding Nimr’s release.

On October 15, 2014, Nimr was sentenced to death at the Specialized Criminal Court in Riyadh. In reaction to the sentence, people took to streets in the city of Qatif in Eastern Province to condemn the move.

Amnesty International has called the death sentence “appalling,” saying the verdict should be quashed.

Nimr was given the death sentence on charges of disturbing the kingdom’s security and making anti-government speeches.

He is the Imam of al-Awamiyya Mosque in Qatif and has spent most of his two-year detention in solitary confinement at the al-Ha’ir prison in Riyadh, according to Amnesty International.