Sheikh Nimr execution will throw Saudi Arabia into turmoil: Iran MP

An Iranian lawmaker censures a Saudi prosecutor’s call for the execution of the prominent cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, saying such a move will create crisis in the Western-puppet kingdom.

Head of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Alaeddin Boroujerdi said Friday that Nimr’s execution would enrage millions of Muslims including scholars and Sources of Emulation, and will create a major crisis for Saudi Arabia.

“It seems unlikely that such a sentence will be carried out…. The Saudi government will definitely take proper measures to prevent it (from being carried out),” he added.

Boroujerdi criticized the silence of international organizations on the decision to execute Sheikh Nimr, saying world bodies adopt a politicized approach towards various issues, ignore human principles, and exercise double standards vis-à-vis prominent Muslim scientists and religious figures.

Sheikh Nimr was attacked, injured and arrested by Saudi security forces en route to his house in the Qatif region of Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province on July 8, 2012.

The sheikh’s arrest sparked protests in the oil-rich province. The cleric appeared before court earlier this week for the first time since his arrest. His family members say he has been severely tortured in jail and denied medical care by prison authorities.